Fairy Tail - I Choose You 3! Alola Fairy Tail!
by HappyTheCamper
Summary: SEQUEL: Natsu and Lucy are again drawn into the virtual world of Pokemon as the game's creator goes missing inside his latest project. The two wizards must complete the Island Challenge of Alola in order to find their missing friend, and perhaps form a rivalry with each other along the way? Natsu tries to master fire, while Lucy notices her spirits will be battling as her team.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello! My name is HappyCamper999! If you are here, then welcome to the third story in a trilogy of _Fairy Tail x Pokemon_ crossovers!**

 **For _New_ Readers - Alola and Welcome! I hope you enjoy this prologue, and come back to read more! This is a reminder to say that this is a _sequel_ , and also a third story in a series of 3 total so far. I cannot make you read the first two, but if you find yourself growing confused or frustrated, maybe those two stories would be a good place to relieve your headache!**

 **For _Old_ Readers - ALOLA! I hope you join me for a 3rd time because of the three stories. This is _the best_ one yet! (I'm not just saying that!) I want you guys to comment and tell me what you've been up to in the past year! (Or not...anything's cool with me at this point! Has it really been over a year since I've updated this series...?)**

 **Disclaimer: _It is important to note that_ _I do not own Fairy Tail. It, its story, characters, settings and all other aspects are the property of Hiro Mashima. I also do not own Pokémon. It and all of its branches are owned by Nintendo, Gamefreak, and the The Pokémon Company. The only aspects of this story I can claim are the theme to the plot, and several original characters._**

* * *

Fairy Tail - I Choose You!

Part III: _Alola Fairy Tail!_

Prologue

* * *

"Alright, let's hope I can make this the last night of testing…"

At the far east side of Magnolia, a man familiar to the Fairy Tail guild was currently finishing a very important personal project under the radiant light of the Fioren moon.

We find him inside his industrious basement after finishing the lasting touches on a very impressive piece of magical equipment, one that looks ready to produce an intense force of magical power.

"Eh…" He scratched his head as he unplugged one final cord. "Maybe this time I'll just see if the game powers on _without_ electricity, then I can just head to bed early..."

While he is more familiar with lacrima powered video gaming than it seems, businessman Nigel Thomas has never developed his own product by himself, without the help of his company or friends to test it out.

Nigel stepped back and wiped his brow clean of sweat as he looked his newly updated device over. He showed off a smug grin and grabbed his written notes lying beside him on an open desk.

"Let's see…the game powered on fine earlier, but those little additions I implemented didn't show up when I looked around inside. I think I just need to…" Nigel grabbed his remote keyboard and switched the power on to his impressive device. Like the previous games before, this one was controlled by a standard keyboard, but also like the past games of this notable series, his creation had other _hidden abilities_ for the player to enjoy as well.

"Man if this works…agh, I can't even think of how awesome it would be! This could be the biggest Pokémon game yet!" His company had earned worldwide success with the release of his previous Pokémon games thanks to the exclusive virtual reality experience that it offered the player and their friends. In two back-to-back instalments, the lead player was sucked into the game for the story mode, and expected to play as the very trainer inside a virtual Pokémon world. If the player also had friends with them, they could join in as the player's Pokémon team, which really made things exciting for a human audience to enjoy.

Now, Nigel decided to revamp the entire virtual reality system, by developing this platform on a device created and powered by 100% lacrima. It was currently being powered with minimal electricity, but once Nigel removed the cords, it would hopefully stay powered on through just its magical lacrima capabilities. In a way, it was actually less of a virtual world, and almost… _real._

"Okay…fingers crossed?" The half-tired and near-crazed businessman readied himself for the moment of a life time as he powered on the game, and waited for the menu to come forth. However, as the lights flashed on, a black and purple crack took his computer screen by surprise, and all of a sudden, his large industrial-sized house began shaking above.

"Yikes!" He yelled out as he threw away the keyboard and ran halfway up his steps. His house sat on a very tall hill to the eastern side of Magnolia, so if it really started shaking that much, the rest of the village would surely know. That being said, he ran right back downstairs to make sure the source of the rumble was not about to blow up right in his face, and level his mansion altogether.

However, as his eyes landed back on the computer device, they grew ten times their average size as a giant spiral column of purple and white light hovered in the center of his basement floor. It looked rather ominous, and almost like a portal of sorts worthy of entry.

Nigel shut his gaping mouth and shook his head with shock and awe. "I don't believe it…I actually created a direct portal to the virtual world? No electricity at all! All lacrima, all virtual…"

Normally, his games required a transfer box, or headset, or flatbed of sorts to transport the person's body and mind into the games, but this system appeared to create its very own direct portal for entering the game.

Nigel's eyes quickly turned from their regular blue into a wondrous shade of emerald green as two great big dollar signs took their place. He laughed and raised up a fist in celebration. "Hehe! I'm gonna make an even _bigger_ fortune on this thing!"

He stopped laughing and reminded himself that he already owned a fortune, and quickly shook his head again to clear out the crazy. "Right, ahehe, well I better jump in and see if it actually works…"

Then, Nigel finished writing off a last-minute note, and left his journal log sitting right on the desk. Finally, the brown-haired wizard readied his mind as he stepped forth and officially tested his new device by entering the virtual world.

* * *

 _~The Next Day~_

* * *

" _NGH!_ Natsu, stop eating so fast! You're really going to hurt yourself!"

"AG-RGH!"

Lucy stood behind Natsu as they both occupied a table inside the Fairy Tail guild hall. She had both arms under his chest, and pulled up several times to de-lodge a trapped piece of food that was blocking his airway.

"Errrg! ALMOST!" This was the fifth time that day Lucy had to do this. Natsu was wolfing down everything in his path since they returned home from a mission that morning, and every bite meant that much more chaos for her and the others in the guild.

"Lucy! Don't hurt the poor guy!" Wendy plugged her ears and looked away as Lucy's Heimlich maneuver was making Natsu produce horrible sounds, and with every heave of her arms, the dragon slayer's face was growing bluer and bluer by the second.

"I'm not trying to!" Lucy pleaded with her blue haired friend at the other end of the bench while she stuck one of her boots up on the bench top itself, and tried to apply more force to her choking friend's chest.

Meanwhile the table in front of them started producing a slight bit of laughter from some annoyed acquaintances.

"Geeze, just let him choke on it, Lucy. He needs to learn a lesson one way or another." Gray rolled his eyes as he never bothered turning around, and continued eating his own late day meal at a civil pace.

"Yea." Gajeel agreed as he sat with Gray's table. "And if we're lucky, maybe this one will finish him off once and for all…"

"Agh…WHAT'S…UGH…THAT…SUPPOSED…TO…!?" Natsu tried having an enraged conversation with Gray and Gajeel between his choking throat and Lucy's tugs, but he could barely get anything to come out as she tried harder and harder to save his life.

Juvia sat right next to Gray as she held an awkward smile and patted him softly on the back. "Ahaha…what my darling Gray is trying to say is that you little game with Natsu is starting to distract him from our dinner date."

"No…I'm _not_ trying to say that…like at all." Gray rolled his eyes as he kept his back facing Natsu and his head away from Juvia. "I'm saying Natsu's annoying me, and he needs to stop it."

Meanwhile, Happy started giggling too at the entire situation as he sat down with Wendy and Carla. "Geeze Lucy, you're sure getting close to Natsu!"

The blonde wizard now had both legs up on the bench and a face full of red energy. "HAPPY! UGH, WHEN I'M THROUGH SAVING THIS IDIOT'S LIFE I'LL…"

"Tom Cat, why must you try to make a joke with every situation?" Carla shook her head with a disapproving expression as she continued nibbling on a meal of her own. She then dabbed her face with a tissue. "That being said, Lucy, I'm starting to wonder if your CPR is doing more harm to the poor boy then it is good."

"Agreed. " Panther Lilly had a smug grin covering his face as he stood beside Gajeel's plate of food. "The Salamander looks like he's struggling with every breathe he takes even after the help."

"Oh trust me!" Lucy struggled with their replies. "At this point, I'm not trying to make it easy on him!" Natsu continued choking no matter how hard Lucy pulled, but just then…

"BLAHHHH!" Natsu yelled out with relief as Lucy's final heave released the large gob of food, and launched it right past Gray's head into the other table's area.

Some pieces of food scuffed the side of Gray's face, which left the now survived Natsu chuckling with laughter. "Bahaha! Nice aim Lucy! Ya almost hit the pervert right in the back of the head!"

"Yea…?" Lucy's face started losing its color as she shrunk down with fear. "I'm starting to wish that I did…"

Natsu sat up and realized Gray and everyone else were now miles away from the table, which revealed the last person sitting across from him. This person also got a face full of food as it shot out of Natsu's mouth, and left her in a fitting moment of rage and anger.

However, Natsu quickly recognized Erza Scarlet's face the moment the food burned right off her cheeks, and two fiery red eyes locked onto her target. He squealed from fear and stood behind Lucy, but it was too late to calm the already infuriated storm.

"YOU IDIOT!" Erza yelled with swords in hand. "NEXT TIME I'LL ORDER HER TO LET YOU CHOKE TO DEATH!" She smacked him upside the head, and kicked him out the guild hall doors, all while Happy and Lucy ran after him in a bout of confusion.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled as the Salamander shot out like a torpedo through the main guild doors, and Happy sighed and slowly followed behind.

"Well." The cat shrugged. "At least he'll probably lose his appetite now." They finally made it outside to find Natsu tumbling into the cobble streets, and a great big lump and cloud of grey smoke rising from his forehead.

Lucy knelt down and put a hand behind his head as she face-palmed in embarrassment. "Natsu, you probably just need to go home…"

"Yea…cough…you're right." His eyes were now spinning like cork screws. "Just drop me off in your bed and I'll be out for an afternoon nap."

"I NEVER SAID GO HOME TO _MY_ HOUSE!?" Lucy raised a fist and prepared to deck him a second time, but just then she looked up and saw Cana and Levy coming towards the guild from the east. They seemed to be locked in a peculiar conversation, which left both Lucy and Happy fixed in awe.

"Hey guys! What's with the serious expressions?" Happy blurted out and waited for a response.

Levy turned to speak first. "Well, it's actually about Nigel. We went to go see him, but…"

"But what?" Lucy stood with a curious look on her face. "Is he okay?"

"Well, we really don't know." Cana pulled out a silver flask and shook her head. "He wasn't even there."

"What?" Lucy stepped back, and even Happy and Natsu looked concerned once they heard the news as well. She needed to hear more. "Is he supposed to be in town, or…?"

Cana nodded, and raised an eyebrow as she nonchalantly passed Lucy and the others to walk into the guild hall. "Actually, he's supposed to be at his house working on a new game, but now, he's totally gone."

Levy nodded and followed as she tried to finish up the thought. "Yea, I wonder what could have happened this time…"

* * *

Now, Lucy and her two usual friends were inside her apartment as the day went into the late afternoon. She was trying to gather up bandage supplies from her bathroom, but stumbled out the door into the living room area as she nearly dropped it all on the floor.

"Ugh! This isn't a nurse's office, ya know?! I'm not even sure why you two followed me home."

"Awe come on Lucy!" Happy sat right beside Natsu as the injured Fire Dragon wizard lied down on her bed. "You said you'd help fix Natsu up good as new!"

His lump looked even more sore than before, and the little blue cat had just finished removing the earlier set of bandages from Natsu's wounded head.

Lucy sighed and sat down with them as she started prepping the second set. "Yea, okay. I'll stay quiet." She noticed Natsu's head wound looked like it probably did hurt, and all the sympathy for her best friend kept her from getting any angrier.

Not to mention the peculiar news about Nigel she heard earlier that day. She remembered him talking with the Master and the others about a new video game he was trying to create on his own, and this one was supposed to be even better than the first two.

That being said, in the eyes of Lucy Heartfilia, anything was better than those death trap Pokémon games. The first one locked her and her friends away without giving them a clear way out, and the second one almost wiped Natsu and others clean out of existence after it got hacked by rogue employees.

Still, this whole situation left her thinking. "Hey guys, do either of you remember seeing Nigel before we left town for our mission the other day? I'm trying to think of the last time he stopped off at the guild hall."

"Oh yea…" Happy started scratching his chin. "…come to think of it, I don't remember seeing him in a really long time! He must have been hard at work on those new Pokémon games!"

"Hehe, no kidding!" Natsu punched his two fists together and grinned. "He told me I'd be the first one to test them out, and he even said he'd give me a battle once he figured out the arena mode."

"Natsu, I doubt you even remember how to play." Lucy shook her head and cut off a piece of bandage wrap. "I just don't see what the big deal about those games are, but…I really hope he's okay."

"Yea, me too." Happy thought with a long pause. "Ya think he got sucked into the game like last time?"

"I dunno, maybe?" Lucy took that into consideration, but just then her expression changed as she could feel Natsu's core body temperature rising faster and faster.

"Oh no…whaaAT _NOW!?_ "

"HAHA! COME ON! LET'S GO FIND OUT!" Natsu left room for no more waiting around as he grabbed Lucy by the arm and ran out the front door. From there Happy laughed and flew behind him as they all three ran right for the east side of town.

* * *

 **Quote from Angry Fans: "But there was no Pokemon!? WAS I JUST LIED TO, OR SOMETHING!?"**

 **Me: "Guys...it's a prologue...trust me, I've got this!"**

 **So we're goin' to Alola! Anyway, I hope you choose to comment after reading the prologue! Good or bad, I'd _LOVE_ to hear what you have to say! I'll leave more notes in the next chapter, but I will say I started a new profession since we last parted ways...I'm a teacher now! I start the new school year in one week's time, and I will update this story in exactly one week (Monday the 21st of August will be the release of the official Chapter 1.) I will then release new chapters _every weekday_ (Monday-Friday) and don't worry, the story has already been 100% written and completed over on Microsoft Word, so you won't have to experience any long delays between chapters!**

 **Until then, thanks for stopping by! Look out this time next week for the first official chapter! :D**


	2. 1: Alola Fairy Tail!

**Author's Note: ALOLA! Welcome, welcome to the official release of my THIRD Fairy Tail x Pokemon crossover story! Yes, I know there was a prologue last week, but this is the first _real_ chapter...and if any readers made it here there's a safe bet that you guys will be my _real_ audience for the duration of the next few months.**

 **Anyway, without any further distractions, allow me to give you Chapter 1!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter One - Alola Fairy Tail!

* * *

"ALRIGHT NIGEL! TIME TA SHOW ME WHAT'S GOIN' ON IN YOUR GAME!" Natsu charged down the basement stairs of the eastern Magnolian mansion as he, Lucy, and Happy finished breaking into the rather luxurious but empty home.

To be honest, the front door was unlocked, which left Lucy particularly worried, and embarrassed. "Well, I guess we're not 'technically' breaking in."

"Nah, it'll be fine!" Happy laughed as he and Lucy followed after Natsu. "I just hope Natsu doesn't burn the place down while looking for they guy."

"Yea me too." Lucy laughed but finally stepped into the large basement. She looked around trying to find any clue that would help lead to Nigel's whereabouts, but all they came to find was a slightly shattered computer screen, and the powered off computer itself.

"Wow." Lucy stood under the large lacrima monitor. "This screen is even bigger than his last two. Now that I think about it, if the player is supposed to transport into the game, why does he need such a big screen?"

"Duh Lucy! The support team!" Happy reminded Lucy that while she and Natsu participated in the last two games as the main players respectively, Nigel, Happy, and the others all stood by with the game controls as a support team of sorts.

Lucy continued walking around as Natsu tried getting into a fight with the inanimate computer. She walked back to find the disconnected generator that previously powered on the lacrima, but now that it supposedly worked by itself, it was safe to say that machine was deemed useless.

"Well, I guess he got it to work all on its own. That was his big goal if I remember right." Lucy and everyone at Fairy Tail knew he wanted to make a new game with a new region, but the system itself was also his biggest dream to create.

Just then the blonde sleuth looked back towards the door, and saw a grey notepad sitting on a messy desk. She ran right over and picked it up without hesitation. "Wait, here's Nigel's journal. I guess he left it in the lab!"

"No way!" Happy cheered to celebrate their first clue. "What's it say?"

Natsu ignored them both and continued giving the computer screen a death glare. As he tried holding himself back from temptation to break its cracked glass further, a great big light flashed on, and as he turned back around, he saw Lucy holding the controls.

"Sorry for scaring you" She apologized. "I want to check something out."

"Nah, you're totally fine!" Natsu laughed and stepped back to gain a better view of the now lit up machine. "This thing looks awesome! Even better than the last time we played!"

Lucy went to nod, but just then she hit the next instructed button, and as expected a very bizarre sight followed. She and the others stepped a few feet back as a white light flashed out of the crack, and a great tremor took the ground and shook the entire building above.

"Woah! Is Gramps shooting a _Fairy Law_ at somebody!?" Natsu tried keeping his balance, and Lucy tried to hold on to the journal and keyboard as they both nearly fell over from the intensive shockwave.

"I don't know!" She yelled back and tried to steady her feet. "Look!"

They all three turned as the shaking finally receded, and just then a brilliant, light blue vortex with accents of white, nearly mimicking the purple one from before, took the center of the room and protruded out from the crack of the screen.

The group sat in pure silence, and Natsu waved his hand through the chilling, mysterious portal. "Wow! It's like an ice-cold super cloud!"

"Natsu!" Happy yelled. "Don't touch it ya big dummy! That thing's probably dangerous, or something!"

They started looking at it with awed expressions, but then turned to find Lucy deep in thought.

"Alright Lucy, what's that book have to tell us now?" Natsu readied himself for any bit of news, but never expected her to groan with discomfort and shake her head in fury.

"Urgh!...come on." Lucy sighed and slowly marched forward as she tried walking through the portal.

"WHOA NO WAY!" Happy slapped his cheeks and freaked out as Natsu yelled too and grabbed Lucy by the arm.

"Hold on!" He pulled her back with a worried face. "I can't go losin' you just like we lost Nigel!"

"Natsu! That's how we have to enter the game!" Lucy pulled out the page and pointed to the instructions. "I'm just following what Nigel left us as a clue."

"Wait." Happy began scratching his chin. "You're saying he trapped himself in the game…that means…"

Lucy let out a painful noise and shook her head on last time.

"Yes…we have to jump into the game in order to find him."

Silence filled the room, and Natsu finally released a yell of happiness.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ALRIGHT! POKEMON ADVENTURE NUMBER 3 HERE I COME!"

And just like that, without giving her time to make a second decision, or to leave a note of her own, Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm, and led himself, her, and Happy into their third ever Pokémon Adventure.

* * *

 _~Meanwhile, inside the game~_

While the players from Fairy Tail were transporting themselves into the game, a young and very nervous character inside the game's universe began sprinting frantically inside an all-white room that looked to be a laboratory of sorts. This person wore all white boots as ran right for a triangular styled elevator, and quickly followed its controls up to the next level of this mysterious facility.

As the platform rose to its new destination, the young figure actually appeared to be a girl with long blonde hair, and nervous green eyes. She also wore a short, frilly white dress and matching large hat as she clutched a large Poké-duffle bag with her life.

As she looked both ways, she quickly chose a route that took her through a grove of lush green vegetation just over a set of all-white railings. She tried catching her breathe on several occasions, but the sound of metal footsteps from all about the facility roof seemed to keep her alert and focused on her escape.

Then, as she turned for a new path, she quickly saw a pair of all white workers running right after her. They looked to have very devious expressions, and just as she started to leave their sights, a pair of new guards stopped her in her tracks.

The poor blonde girl stepped away from both paths to try and distance herself from the unwanted facility workers. An easy victory seemed to be within their grasp, but just then two shiny, and charming eyes pierced out from inside the bag. After they blinked, a great cloud of dark blue magic enveloped the area, and as the workers quickly covered their faces from the blinding light, the blonde girl and her mysterious passenger vanished into thin air.

* * *

Now, we come to find a more familiar blonde teenager lying inside a bed in a great big bedroom. She rubbed her eyes open to let them fill with a warming light, and just before she caught a view of her surroundings, a loud beeping noise took her ears.

"Urgh…what is that?" Lucy sat up, and quickly noticed this was not Nigel's basement, nor the guild hall, not even her own room back in Magnolia.

She stood tall and brushed herself off while trying to collect the scene. The blonde now wore a loose yellow top with the bottom twisted up, green beach shorts, and a goofy looking red hat with several upright notches firmly on her head.

She laughed for a second and sighed. "Well, I guess being inside these games _is_ starting to feel a whole lot more natural to me."

In her first ever time playing these games, Lucy felt very weird being inside the virtual reality, but now after jumping into them for a third consecutive time, things were starting to appear much more familiar. Except for one thing, that consistent beeping sound. It was starting to drive her crazy, and eventually motivated her to walk over and sit down at her supposed character's desk.

"A computer? Hmm…no lacrima charge…" She looked puzzled at the regular electronic computer monitor, and then powered it on with a flick of a button.

 **"** **You have a message from the Alola region's own Professor Kukui!"**

From there the screen flashed bright lights, and an unfamiliar figure emerged from a video on the desktop.

"Hang on, now. Gimme just a sec…" A man with tan skin, green glasses, and an unbuttoned lab coat started fiddling with a camera on his end, and after finishing up, he smiled and gave Lucy a wave. "Hey there! Good Morning!"

"Huh?" Lucy sat back and nearly fell out of her seat. "How did he…?"

The man known as Kukui continued to speak through her nervous tantrum. "So the day has finally come that you're moving to Alola!"

"I am?" Lucy scratched her head, and then shook it in embarrassment. "Oh yea, I'm role playing here…"

The young Kukui laughed and waved his hand, summoning a large map of four islands onto his screen. "Alola is a region made up of several islands. That could be the reason the region is chock full of nothing but rare Pokémon, yeah!"

"Rare Pokémon?" Lucy tilted her expression to let him finish.

"There's no shortage of cool Pokémon out there in Alola, either!" He then held up a Poké Ball and grinned. "Such mysterious creatures."

Then with a flick of his wrist, he threw the ball up in the air and released a tiny brown and grey dog Pokémon, fit with a smile and a fluffy coat of fur.

Lucy coo-ed at the adorable creature, and then smacked her cheek to remind herself how much she hated this universe.

The laboratory man continued. "You'll find them all over. In the grass, in the caves, in the sky and sea…Here in Alola we love our Pokémon, and we depend on the heaps, too! Some of us even battle with 'em, if we call ourselves Pokémon Trainers!"

"Oh yea…" Lucy said with a roll of her eyes. "I know all about that violent nonsense fighting."

The man went to reply, but instead picked up his little dog sitting on his lap and went to set it down. "Rockruff! Can you wait until I'm done talkin' to play?!"

Lucy had no choice but to giggle as the little Pokémon barked and obeyed, and quickly jumped off his lap to let the man finish. "All right, I gotta ask you some questions about yourself so I can introduce you to everybody! I'll need to know your name for your Trainer Passport!"

Lucy then looked to find a templet for a passport sitting under the man's video, and as an instant reflex she had no hesitation in naming herself "Lucy."

"So you go by Lucy?" Kukui asked. Lucy checked it off to agree, and let the supposed professor continued on with his lecture as her new smiling photo filled in the screen. "10-4, miss lady! I'll let everybody out here know you're on your way!"

Lucy felt rather warm from the very friendly introduction, and just as she went to finish up, the professor man was joined once again by his tiny dog, and now a black and red bird over his shoulder as well. "Lucy! Yea, that's a name that hits you like a Thunderbolt outta the sky! Woo!"

"Oh great, he makes goofy jokes." Lucy sighed and tried to smile as he went to finish up, but everything was starting to slowly come back to her as the greeting started rounding towards a close.

"Can't wait to see you in person then, cousin!" The professor smiled and gave her a grin, which left her totally confused by the remark. He then smiled and waved before finally shutting off his camera and ending the conversation then and there.

Lucy sat back with a release of her breath, and looked out the window to feel a warm breeze of island air fill her room, and even took in a gorgeous ray of sunlight right on her face. She smiled for a brief moment and then remembered where she was.

"Okay, Nigel's missing, and as far as I know Natsu and Happy are too. Right now I need to find everyone, and get back to Magnolia as soon as possible." She quickly stood up, fixed her goofy little hat to straighten it up, and walked over to the desk in the corner of the room.

"What's this? A letter?" Lucy picked up a journal that was sitting on the desk, and read the page that was opened up.

 **"** **ADVENTURE RULE NO. 1**

 **Open the X menu with the X button.**

 **ADVENTURE RULE NO. 2**

 **Record your progress with Save."**

"Smart ass…" Lucy rolled her eyes and knew it had to be the one Nigel wrote that she brought with her through the portal. She deemed the journal useless, and left it right where it was to quickly turn around and march downstairs to begin her new adventure.

As she wondered down to the living quarters of the lovely island house, a tall and lovely brown haired woman turned around with a soothing beam.

"You were out like a light, weren't you? You ought to be full of energy by now!" She gave Lucy such a warm smile, and for just an instant, she actually believed she was back in the real world.

 _"_ _Awe, I guess this is the character's mom."_ Lucy had no choice but to sympathize with the level of emotion Nigel seemed to put into the game, and decided to remain silent as the motherly figured continued.

"So Lucy…are you pumped to meet some Alolan Pokémon?" Normally the Pokémon games would take over with blank dialogue from the main character, but Lucy began noticing the conversation actually paused to let her fill in with her own thought.

"O-oh…I guess…erm." She awkwardly replied, which left her in-game mother shaking her head with laughter.

"Oh you! Someday you're going to learn to have a little wonder in your life!"

"Me!?" Lucy started arguing with the virtual character. "But that's the whole reason why I…ugh just forget it…"

The mom giggled and carried on talking to her supposed daughter. "We're living in the Alola region now! The beautiful islands everyone wants to visit! I'm sure the Pokémon living in a place like this must be friendly, right?"

"I'd hope so!" Lucy agreed. "This place does feel pretty nice, actually." She seemed to start warming up to the tropical environment already, with all the help coming from her virtual mother that is.

 _*Ding-Dong!*_

The house's doorbell suddenly chimed off, and both Lucy and her mother turned to face the direction of the front door. Lucy's faux-mother spoke first. "Was that the doorbell? That's got to be Professor Kukui. Why don't you let him in, Lucy?"

"Oh he's that professor from the video chat." Lucy recognized the name and immediately ran for the door to let the guest inside.

Then, low and behold the same youthful professor from before stepped into the house, even with the exact same hat, green sun glasses, and obnoxious unbuttoned lab coat.

"Hey there, Lucy! The name's Kukui. Good to meet you, cousin!"

"Cousin?" Lucy sounded confused. "A-and why is he still half naked!?"

Kukui never heard that comment and carried on with his own introduction. "You gotta be tired after that long trip all the way out here to Alola! You feelin' any jet lag?"

"Is that how you describe it?" Lucy felt fine this time around, but the reference reminded her from her first few days playing in Kalos.

Kukui carried on. "We sure are a long way from _Magnolia_ out here in Alola…!"

"HOLD ON, WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Lucy stopped him right there, and made him repeat himself for a bit of clarity.

"What? You are from Magnolia, right?" Kukui laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Or did he call it _Earth-Land?_ Eh, I can't remember, but you know what I'm talking about, yea!"

"Yea, but I'm not sure why you do too…and who is _he_?" Lucy had held standard conversations with these virtual characters in the Kalos game, but to actually have one that knew where she was from, and to recognize that she wasn't from the video game itself?!

Kukui laughed and failed to give her an answer, and instead directed himself to the other virtual character in the room. "Hey there, mom! I just let myself in." He smiled at both of them and cheered. "Welcome to Alola!"

The mom grinned and nodded in excitement. "Of course. I still remember seeing you battle the Indigo Gym Leaders back in Kanto all those years ago, you know! I've been in love with Alolan Pokémon ever since, so I've decided to move here myself!"

Kukui laughed. "Ha! I was supposed to be visiting there to research Kanto Pokémon moves and all. I thought I knew a thing or two about battling, but those Kanto Gym Leaders proved me wrong!"

"Hold on!" Lucy had to put her foot down. "I want answers, buddy! How do you know I'm not a character!?"

Kukui turned and gave Lucy his full attention. "I dunno! Maybe it's your smile, yea? Maybe your clothes? All's I can say is your one of those friends of Nigel Thomas."

"You know Nigel!?" Lucy stood at full attention. "Where is he?! Is he in the game somewhere!?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea, cousin." Kukui shook his head. "But we can try and find him together…after all, this region will be no challenge for the previous Champion of Kalos, yea."

"Agh…!" Lucy froze in mid-phrase, and realized he was referencing her victory from the first time she played Pokémon. She had no choice but to back away from her hostilities, and decided to work with Kukui instead. "O-Okay, so where am I supposed to go now?"

The mother seemed to fade right out of the conversation as she politely wondered off into the kitchen. Kukui grinned and continued talking. "Well, that's actually why I came! Let's get a move on to the next town over, cousin!"

"AND ARE YOU REALLY MY COUSIN, OR NOT!?" Lucy was about to pull her hair out, but Kukui ignored her as he turned to open the door outside.

"Time for you to meet the Island Kahuna and get yourself a Pokémon, yeah!"

* * *

After gathering her bag, her items, and the journal from Nigel on the bedroom desk, Lucy followed Kukui out the door and into the Alolan sunlight. They made their way towards the northeast, and up a slight gradient as they followed a lovely dirt path towards a scenic hilltop village.

The pair remained largely quiet for the entire walk, but that was mainly due to the fact that Lucy had no idea how to hold a conversation with the man. They passed by dozens of trainers, fields of grass, and even wild Pokémon, but Kukui remained silent until they came right up to a specific patch of grass at the foot of small steps.

"Alola!" Kukui waved both hands in a circular manner, and greet two young trainers searching the grass for Pokémon.

The youngest boy smiled and brightly waved back, but directed himself primarily towards Lucy. "Howzit! You're the new kid that just flew in? Let's have a Pokémon battle sometime!"

"Wow." Lucy softly smiled. "He really did go all out with the characters in this game, huh?"

Kukui closed his eyes and softly smiled back. He then looked up. "Having Pokémon gives you a whole new way to communicate with other people, see?"

"Yea, I remember all the battles from Kalos." Lucy agreed, and then gave him a nod.

Kukui followed by heading for the true North. "Now, let's get moving! Iki Town is right over there!"

After setting foot inside the small green space in the front of the village, Kukui turned and raised both hands. "And we're here! This right here is Iki Town! This town is where folks come to worship the Pokémon that watches over Melemele Island. Tapu Koko keeps us all safe and happy, see."

"Tapu Koko…" Lucy softly uttered that name under her breath, but followed Kukui further into the town to get a better view of the main yard. However, as they arrived to the upper most tier of the hill, Kukui stopped and looked alert all around the space.

"Huh? What's goin' on here? We were supposed to meet everybody right here, yeah." He then held a hand over his eyes and looked towards a deep jungle path at the back of the village. "Maybe they're all back there on Mahalo Trail. That's where the ruins of our guardian deity, Tapu Koko, are, yeah…"

Lucy rolled her eyes after a long pause and let out a sigh. "Ugh, fine…guess that's my cue to go looking for something else." She then stepped up and began heading for the Mahalo Trail entrance.

However, as she gained her first full view, a mysterious white figure standing in the way clouded her mind. She looked like a girl near Lucy's age, but maybe a little younger. She had long bright blond hair, and an adorable white dress and hat.

She also wore a seemingly heavy red and white duffel bag hanging off her left shoulder, and appeared to be tapping it nonstop as she headed into the brushy forest path.

Although she spoke with a soft voice, Lucy could still make out her words. "Really? You want to go up to the ruins? I don't know what you hope to find there…"

"Who is that?" Lucy immediately felt intrigued to follow this mysterious figure out the back of the village and up the unknown path towards the ruins, and without a second hesitation, she quickly pursued the fleeing girl.

While Lucy began walking up the Mahalo Trail, she started jotting more notes down in the journal Nigel left her. Her head began to itch from all the thinking, and her pen was quickly running low from all her frantic writing.

"Okay, so the characters in this game seem a whole lot more aware of my existence, and none of them are actual players like the game Natsu played in." She's of course referring to the game featured inside the _Hoenn_ region that Natsu played flowing her own adventure in Kalos. "They also seem to be fully conscious of who I am, my background, and who Nigel is as well. And that girl…"

Lucy had actually lost all sights of the mysterious girl from before, but assuming that the trail was a dead end, she expected to come across her sooner or later. "I wonder who she is, and if she knows where Nigel is…?"

Lucy started finishing up her notes before she froze with an alert reminder, and nearly dropped her belongings. "Hold on and what about Natsu!? And Happy? Where are those two morons at!?"

Lucy had no idea why this game was behaving so much differently from the Kalos and Hoenn games from before, but barely had any time to think as she finally reached the top of the trail. But as she did, the girl from before stood a great distance from her near a cliff.

"You can't come out!" She continued beating on the bag. "We'll get in trouble if anyone sees you." The girl quickly collected herself and continued marching forward.

Lucy pondered all the girl's actions, and tried to keep a safe distance, but just then the bag flew forward and drove the poor girl too close to the end of the cliff. There was a rope bridge there to save her if it went too far, but after a small amount of struggling, the blonde girl couldn't control the item any longer, and quickly released it into the open.

"Peeew!" A tiny cloud of blue and purple gas took the air, and for a second Lucy almost saw a smiling face covered on black on the front, with a small ring of gold creating a vertical band that ran right down the creature's back.

"A Pokémon?" Lucy tried using all her brains to deduce an answer. "It looks so adorable, and I wonder…"

Just then, the little cloud Pokémon floated out of the girl's control and over the rickety wooden bridge. The blonde owner held out a hand to try and follow, but looked to nervous and too frail to follow it properly along the path. It seemed to be doing well all by itself, but just as its smiling face took in all the Alolan sun, a flock of familiar bird Pokémon flew in and circled it like vultures.

"Oh no!" Lucy recognized them as Spearow from past games, and used her friendly Fairy Tail instincts to help the distressed stranger and her cowering Pokémon. She darted forward and ran right up to the bridge, which quickly alerted the worrying girl in white.

She turned around, and revealed two bright green eyes filled with fear. Her worried expression gave Lucy chills, and just as she went to ask a question, the girl spoke up.

"Ah…" Her voice, frozen with stuttering fear, gave Lucy a wealth of time to formulate a response.

"Who are you? Do you need help!?" The Fairy Tail Wizard hated blurting out dumb questions like that, but it was her only way of trying to size up the scene.

The girl took a few nervous breaths, and gave Lucy a near-pathetic plea.

"H-Help…Save Nebby!"

* * *

 _ ***GASP!***_ **Who is that mysterious girl...!?**

 **Okay, I'm just joking. I imagine readers have _some_ knowledge about Sun and Moon, and as such you probably know who she is! Anyway, that brings me to my next point...this is in-fact _a sequel_ , and as I may remind you throughout the story, there may be some slips I make throughout the adventure that might reference the first 2 stories. If any readers did not read those stories, well I can't make you! So apologies if you come across anything confusion.**

 **Now, my next issue of concern...this website has a very... _interesting_ relationship with writers and their "Original Characters." When I wrote my first few Fairy Tail stories, I made my own OC named Nigel (mentioned in the last 2 chapters). Nigel for the most part is very harmless, but he used to be the typical, "annoying" OC that turned people away. However, I went back and fixed the last 2 stories, and improved on him from there, and now it appears he is missing! I hope he does not turn any readers away just because he's an OC, but if so think about this...since he's missing, then that means this story won't have any OCs, right? RIGHT! It's just Fairy Tail meets Alola!**

 **Anyway, tell me what you think so far! Where's Natsu? Or Happy? Where do you think Nigel is? Who will be the heroes' starter Pokemon? Will Lucy and Natsu even make any new friends? Do you like the story? Do you hate the story? Positive comments and negative comments, I accept them all! Even if you make fun of me or my writing! (Except anything that's offensive to _other people_...I may flag those.) I'm not looking to write professionally, so I probably won't be offended by anything. This is just a hobby for me! Tell me what you think so far, and I can't wait to give you guys the next chapter tomorrow! I will update this story _every weekday_ , and take breaks on the weekends.**

 **Until tomorrow!**


	3. 2: The Island Starters

**Author's Note: Hello again! Did anyone reading from the US see the eclipse?! It was awesome where I was, and I only had 90% totality!**

 **I think its safe to remind you now that I will try to upload a chapter every weekday (M-F) but if you fail to see a new chapter, then that means the website's down, or something weird has happened (I start my new job IRL all this week so it may leave me busy from 7:00am-4:00pm EST. You never know!)**

 **Anyway thank you for the great reviews, and please keep them coming! Here's chapter 2!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Two - The Island Starters

* * *

Lucy looked over the girl's shoulder to gather that name. _"Nebby?"_ That must have been the Pokémon. She tried speaking up, but the girl from before continued giving her information.

"Those Spearow are attacking it! But…but I'm too afraid to go out there…My legs feel like they might give out…"

Lucy did not need to hear any more to be swayed for good, and put all her personal fears aside to run right past her and onto the rickety rope-wood bridge. The ravine below dipped down several hundred feet, and the rushing water and jagged rocks at the bottom looked like anything but inviting.

Lucy tried gathering her balance, and carried on to rescue the poor defenseless Pokémon. She tried moving slowly, in order to keep it from rolling off the edge, and with every step she felt more and more worried for its fate.

"Don't worry!" She shouted out, never expecting any response. "I'll be right over to help you out!" As she drew closer steps, the Spearow began dive-bombing the poor Pokémon with mad _Peck_ attacks, and the puny thing covered up its forehead with tiny clouds of blue gas for arms.

From the look on its face, the poor creature looked like it might die from fear at any moment, but just then two knees hit the wooden planks beside its body, and Lucy's arms fully enveloped it in a shielding defense.

She held up her hands and swatted at the flying birds, but they started scratching up her arms instead. "Owe! Agh, I wish I had a Pokémon right about now!"

The Spearow flew closer and closer every time, and just as they tried to claw underneath her arms, the tiny Nebby squealed with a frightened panic.

However, as things grew more and more reckless, the expression on the tiny cloud of purple gas changed from worried to determine. Lucy's face changed too, and as she looked on with an astonished pair of eyes, the small Pokémon sent out a large shockwave of bright blue and deep purple energy, creating a great big force field of magical power.

"Agh!" Lucy held onto the tiny creature tighter than before, because although the wave sent the Spearow packing, it also managed to break the bridge and turn it into dust.

"AH GREAT! JUST MY LUCK!" Lucy yelled out with an annoyed tone, and Nebby squealed with more panicked fear. Meanwhile the blonde girl from before held her hat in total nerves, and her eyes grew twice their size to try and gather all she could from the treacherous sight before her.

However, as the Spearow decided to linger up in the air, their in-sync circle was quickly interrupted as a bolt of angry electrical energy flashed through and smashed them all out of existence. The flash of yellow light flew down towards the falling duo of Lucy and Nebby, and picked them up in two great cup-shaped arms.

It quickly flew back to the blonde girl, and set them both down safe and sound, and quickly backed up to size up its surroundings.

Both blonde girls had their eyes light up with shock and awe. Meanwhile, the Pokémon before them had a thin, black body, shaped like a totem beast or some island deity. It also had two great big shields on either arm in the shape of half a bird mask, and a great big orange mane of feathers flew down the center of its head as it paced back and forth with determined enthusiasm.

Then, the magnificent beast discharged a large volt of energy from its chest and shot up into the sky like a rocket ship set for the moon. A small object dropped in its place, but Lucy was too distracted to notice anything as she was quickly helped up by her unfamiliar new acquaintance.

"Oh! Oh thank goodness." She sighed and quickly looked down at the bouncing cloud of blue and purple delight. "You tried using your power again…didn't you?"

"Peew!" It acted like nothing happened, and kept a cheerful, ornery smile glued right to its face.

"Oh Nebby." The girl rolled her eyes and continued. "You know what happened last time you used it. You couldn't move for ages after that. I don't want to see you like that again!"

Lucy jumped slightly, and the tiny Nebby caught on as it began holding its head down in self-disappointment.

Then, the girl sighed for a second time and put a hand on her pale cheek. "No…I shouldn't say that. I'm sorry. Nebby…I know you were trying to save me that time…and I couldn't even help you in return…"

"Pew!" Nebby smiled once again, and floated right for the girl's legs, and started to fly in between them like a playful puppy with its owner.

Then, it stopped playing and landed right on the chunky item dropped by the mighty electric Pokémon from before. A sparkle flew off its surface and right away Lucy and the girl stepped forward.

"Wha-what' it that?" the latter girl asked the entire group. Nebby sort of answered first by picking it up with its mouth and handing it over to its owner, who took the rock and felt it in the palm of her hands.

"A sparkling…stone? It feels almost warm somehow…" She let the smooth but decorated rock sit in her hands before making another move.

Then her senses returned as she embarrassingly swiveled right back to Lucy's view. "O-Oh Please forgive me! I am so grateful to you for helping us out of that dangerous spot!"

"U-um, yea sure, don't mention it." It took a while for Lucy to return to the moment as well, but soon enough, the usually cheery Celestial Spirit Mage brought out he friendly attitude with a warm smile to share. "I'm sorry too! I sort of stalked you up to the mountain here…erm, you wouldn't happen to be the kahuna or whatever, would you?"

The blonde girl giggled and quickly shook her head. "Oh no, but here! I think this stone belongs to you."

Lucy received the stone from the girl's hands, and like she said it was still warm to the touch. It had a very unusual white marking on it, with tiny little red and yellow dots trimming the bottom. She put it away into her bag and let her new friend carry on.

"Please, d-don't tell anyone about this…About seeing Nebby…I-It's a secret, okay?"

"Um yea! I won't say a thing!" Lucy smiled brightly to provide the poor girl with some comfort and then nodded back in response. "You have my word!"

The girl nodded back, and turned to address her adventurous little Pokémon sitting at her feet. "Come on. Into the bag, Nebby."

The small Pokémon obeyed, and flew right into the bag with no hesitation to follow. Then, without saying another word, the mysterious girl quickly stepped off for the path back down the mountain.

"Hey wait!" Lucy had way too many questions left to just let this girl slip away. She never even got her name. "You never told me your name!"

The girl paused, and seemed to ignore that remark, but either way it did appear that she wasn't through with Lucy. "Umm…I'm worried we might get attacked again by some wild Pokémon or…or something. I know it's too much for me to ask, but…DO you think you could see us back into town?"

"Ahehehe, yea sure, it's not too much to ask at all. Of course I'll see you back down!" Lucy smiled brightly in her reply, and together they made their way back down the Mahalo Trail.

* * *

As they made it back down safe and sound, it appeared that Lucy and her friendly new companion had a lot more to talk about than they did before.

"Hold on, you know Nigel too!?" Lucy stood back with utter confusion as they made their final steps back into Iki Town.

The girl's face flushed with embarrassment. "What? I-I mean the name sounds familiar…" She almost acted like she was trying to change the subject after the conversation went into a certain direction. "A-anyway, are you really from Earth Land?"

"Yea?" Lucy sounded more and more confused. "But to be honest I'm surprised you know what and where that is. I'm actually kind of relieved that I don't feel so alone in this world."

They both paused to check around the town, but just on the other side of a great big wooden platform, the two blondes quickly located Professor Kukui waving with all his usual cheer.

"Hey Lucy! I see you missed the kahuna, but it looks like you found my assistant! Oh yea!"

"There he goes again…" Lucy shook her head and backed up that thought. "Wait, did he just call you his assistant?"

The other girl nodded with glee. "Oh…um…yes! B-But you can just call me Lillie. Oh, I should have just mentioned that right when we met! I never even told you my name until now! I…"

"Hey, relax!" Lucy smiled and laughed as they walked over towards Kukui. "We just met after all. Besides your mind was in a pretty scary place after nearly losing your friend back there."

"Y-yes, I suppose you're right…" Lillie slowly went into her next question. "And I never actually got your name either?"

"Oh duh!" Lucy laughed. "I'm Lucy! It's nice to meet you!"

"Lucy… _Lucy_." Lillie held a warm smile after hearing that name. "I'm really glad you were there to help me Lucy!"

The two blondes finally made it to the Pokémon Professor to let him carry on with his concern, but before he could speak, the other members of the village started cheering with glee.

"The kahuna is back! Kahuna Hala has returned!"

"Our guardian's chosen one is back!"

"One of the strongest Pokémon users in Alola!"

"The Kahuna?" Lucy turned to try and get a better view of the village entryway, and just as she and the others sat in patience, an elder figure crossed the steps into town.

Then, low and behold, a great big burly man with an impressive gut, bright yellow flowery shirt, and a face that could have been Master Makarov's twin stepped up over the flat and onto the scene. He seemed to be very kind, but also relaxed with an island sense of tranquility running through his elderly veins.

He stepped up and scratched his belly as he observed the alerted townsfolk. "Have I missed something?"

Kukui laughed and shrugged. "Nah, but where'd you go off to, Kahuna? I thought we were meeting here."

The man Lucy knew from before as Hala stepped forward and raised an eyebrow. "I am kahuna of this island, after all. Whenever there is a problem on the island, it is my duty to resolve it."

The big kahuna then nodded and turned towards Lillie. "Sorry, Lillie. What were you saying before? For some reason I thought I saw Tapu Koko flying about…"

Lillie frantically nodded and carried on explaining her situation. "Oh, um…Yes, Kahuna Hala…Nebby was being attacked by Spearow on the Plank Bridge when this girl helped it get away…but the bridge collapsed, and I thought both of them might fall to the bottom of the ravine…and that was when the islands guardian deity swooped in and saved them."

"Whoa!" Kukui stomped his foot down and smiled. "Well that's something you don't hear every day!"

Hala laughed. "Ho! Although it is said to protect us, our Tapu Koko is a rather fickle creature. Yet…" He then turned towards Lucy with one eyebrow raised. "Our guardian was moved to save you. Kukui, my boy, I think we have cause to celebrate! It seems the Earth-Land girl should get her own Pokémon after all!"

"Finally." Lucy rudely muttered under her breath. "Erm um, I mean, great!" She loved meeting these lively characters, but it was now time to find Natsu and Happy in order to save Nigel, and for them to do that, Lucy probably needed a Pokémon for help.

"Ho-Ho!" Hala patted his stomach and chuckled. "I guess you are the Kalos Champion I've heard so much about. Welcome to Alola! I'm the Kahuna of this island, Hala, and I am glad I got to meet you on such a sunny Alolan day."

He then stepped up and pulled out three standard Poké balls straight from his pocket. "I suppose I don't need to waste any ore of your time. Come, my Pokémon. Let's have a look at you!"

He quickly tossed out all three balls, and they each exploded in sync. Then out came what Lucy expected; three specific types of Pokémon dedicated to Grass, Fire, and Water.

Lucy nodded and stepped up to review her new choices. The first was an adorable grass owl with furry whitish-brown feathers and a green bow tie made of leaves.

"Awe, he's adorable!" She noticed the word _Rowlet_ hovering over its head.

"Brrrr!" It gave her a smile as it spun around its head in a 360-degree manor, and left her cooing with delight as she carried on to her next choice.

The second one she half expected to be Natsu, because he did talk the form of a Charmander last time she led a campaign through a Pokémon universe. This one was actually a little black and red kitten, which would have aligned it closer to Happy instead.

"Prrr…" It silently licked its paw, and then gave Lucy a warm but passive smile as it continued basking in the comforting sun. Lucy covered her blushing face and tried to hold in her smile. "Awe, this one is a _Litten?_ They're all so adorable! I have no idea which on to choose!"

Finally, Lucy stepped over to review her final choice. This one was the water Pokémon, which would have fit her first choice in Kalos that she made with Froakie, her original guide through the first game. However, Nigel was the one who instructed her to take that Pokémon, which left her in a confused state this time around.

Or was it this water Pokémon's rather salty expression? It appeared like it should be happier to be there, because of a picture Lucy saw of it somewhere throughout the town before. Popplio was its name? It was supposed to be a cheery little sea lion that danced and performed tricks, but this one looked absolutely appalled to be there.

"Um, hey little guy…how are you do…?" Lucy reached out to give it a pat on the head, but just then it locked two fiery, and almost way too familiar eyes right on her own.

"Tch…if you think you're going to get away with calling me a guy, Blondie, then you've got another thing coming."

"AQUARIUS!?"

Yes, the angry little sea lion Pokémon also happened to be the Water Bearer of the Zodiac, and Lucy's first ever Celestial Spirit— _Aquarius._ She half-expected Natsu or Happy to be a Pokémon, but not her own Spirit. Sure Loke, Capricorn, and Virgo dropped in during her time in Kalos, but this seemed to be slightly different as Aquarius actually held the position of a VIP starter Pokémon.

Lucy stood back and tried to reaffirm her concern. "I don't understand. Why are _you_ here!?"

"Oh I see…" Aquarius jumped off the podium and got right close to Lucy's legs. "Am I not good enough to play the part of a tiny little Pokémon like your annoying friends!? Why the hell do you think I'm here!? YOU summoned me!"

"I DID!?" Lucy nearly fell over, and now the others were starting to look worried and confused. "But I…!?"

"Oh brother, this is going to be annoying…" The Water Bearer had already lost her patience. "Look just get me in your stupid little Poké Ball and take me to the next stop. I'll try to explain it later."

Lucy had no idea why Aquarius would know any of her answers, but to make a long conversation shorter, she quickly took the Poké Ball adjacent to Popplio and sealed her familiar spirit safely inside.

The entire area fell silent, and Kahuna Hala started rubbing the back of his head. "Uh…oh…so I guess Popplio has accepted you as well, Lucy?"

Kukui let out a short laugh. "You wouldn't happen to know that thing from anywhere before, would you? I mean, it's almost like you were talking to it, yeah."

"…" Lucy held her head down. "Let's just say it chose me, and now we're done here…" She quickly turned around ignoring the confused Hala, the amused Kukui, and the frantically worried Lillie, but either way, Lucy had to find a free space to take Aquarius for some heart to heart conversation.

However, before she made it right out of town, a peculiar trainer started running her way.

"Hey! You and me! Let's have a Pokémon battle!"

"What? Look, I'm really sorry…" Lucy tried to back pedal around the young new trainer, but her crew of Kukui, Hala, and Lillie actually decided to come down and see who it was for themselves.

"Dahahahaha! Where's the fire, boy?" Hala shouted out. "And what kind of Pokémon battle would that be where you don't even give a name first, eh?"

"Fair enough. Then I'm Hau. And my partner's Rowlet."

"Huh?" Kukui stepped back and scratched his chin. "Did you say Rowlet? Lucy you picked the water starter, Popplio, right?"

"Yea I did?" Lucy looked back. "But isn't that how the game is supposed to work? My rival is supposed to have the stronger starter…" She then took a deep breath and smiled. "And I guess this is my rival! I'm Lucy!"

Hau nodded and kept his hands behind his head. "Nice ta meetcha! I bet your Popplio is really cool! We should let them fight really quick! Ya know, for their first time ever?"

Lucy hesitated for a moment, fully remembering what kind of rage and power she had bottled up under her Poké Ball. Sadly, however, she knew she needed to battle to progress the game.

" _*Sigh*…_ I guess when the eyes of two trainers meet, it's time to battle…go _Aquarius!_ "

"Go _Rowlet!_ " Both trainers tossed out their defenders, and just like that the grass and water starters took the field.

Hau smiled and shouted out his first command. "Okay, Rowlet! You have the upper hand! Use _Leafage!_ "

" _Cue!_ " Rowlet fluttered around and sent out several small green blades of glowing grass right for Aquarius's face.

"Dodge it!" Lucy yelled out, quickly forgetting her place.

Aquarius rolled her eyes, and flipped out of the way, quickly smacking Lucy upside the head with her tail.

"AGH!" Lucy rubbed her sore check. "What the heck was that for!?"

Aquarius shot a dart sized column of pure sharp water right for Rowlet, which critically hit the poor creature right into the red health. She then turned around and looked right up at Lucy.

"Look, I'm not here to play off your orders, you got that!? I'll fight with my own damn powers and my own damn magic!"

Lucy wanted to nod, but she frantically waved her arms about in a series of circles as she saw another _Leafage_ attack come in a smash right into the back of Aquarius's head.

Her health was now in the yellow, but her eyes filled with blood red anger as she turned around and darted her glair right at the poor little owl instead. "Okay…you like hitting me with cheap shots, is that it…?"

She geared up another column of water, and psychotically smashed the Rowlet into the rocks with a second _Water Gun_ attack. After the hit landed, small black circles spun around in Rowlet's eyes, and the poor Pokémon finally had enough.

"Whoa! Never knew you'd be that good from the start!" Hau smiled and collected his partner. "Good fight, Lucy! You too Aquarius!"

"Hmph." Aquarius felt a blush of red take her face, because she too admitted the hit was actually pretty nice. She was then collected by a trembling Lucy, and as the fight officially ended, Lucy sighed.

"Look, I'm really sorry about that. I'd wait 'til she blows some more steam off before you battle us again."

"I get ya!" Hau laughed. "Pokémon need rest all the time. It lets them charge their power up and makes them fighting fit for the next go round!" He backed up and looked down the hill. "Besides, I wasn't the only one who wanted to fight ya, either. I imagine you'll win this one pretty easy too with that kinda force on your team."

"Erm…thanks." Lucy shook her head and looked back down the road, but before she had time to settle her vision, a sharp and familiar voice took the air by surprise.

"Hey Hey! There ya are Lucy! I've been looking all over for ya!"

Lucy's eyes opened wide to the sight of spikey pink hair as she turned to greet the sound, and just as the others noticed her shocked expression, they gave her room to yell out in utter confusion.

"NATSU!?"

* * *

 **BAHA! Lucy is stuck with Aquarius for her game! I knew my last two stories used Lucy's best friends (and Natsu's in story #2), but I never utilized Lucy's spirits that much! I hope you have fun trying to guess what Pokemon her other 9 Zodiacs will turn into (Yes, it will only be Lucy's 10 Zodiac spirits. No silver keys are planned to be in the story as of yet, and neither of Yukino's 2 zodiacs.)**

 **We found Natsu! I hope he's okay, and I wonder if this means Happy's with him...IDK! Look for chapter 3 tomorrow!**


	4. 3: A Rivalry in the Making!

**Author's Note: It's early again where I am! Gyah, this teaching stuff is getting old already... ;)**

 **Here's chapter 3! Loving the comments so far! It might be safe to alert new comers that I love replying to comments whenever I can. I enjoy holding side-conversations with readers, and I always try to jump over to your pages to see if you have any stories that may interest me!**

 **Now, let's see if some of your predictions are true...?**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Three - A Rivalry in the Making!

* * *

"NATSU!?" Lucy was completely taken by surprise when she saw her pink haired best friend following Hau up the trail as he entered into the small Iki Town area.

It was him alright. Natsu Dragneel was wearing a red and white striped shirt, with black 3-quarter pants and matching sneakers. He also wore no hat, but was instead equipped with his signature white checkered scarf and a usually cheeky grin.

In fact, the moment he came close enough to start a conversation, the smile on his face grew twice its size.

"Duh! What do I look different or somethin'?!" He started looking around with wide eyes. "Man this place is awesome! I thought that Hoenn world he had me play in before was cool, but this whole world is like one giant island resort!"

Just like Lucy had played through the Kalos region's video games (we know them as X&Y), Nigel had Natsu test a series of games held inside the 3D world of the Hoenn region (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire), and right now he was feeling things this time around would appear totally different than before.

"Not to mention Hau here took me to see his grandpa earlier! He even gave me this sweet new Pokémon!"

Natsu grabbed a Poké Ball off his belt and tossed it out in front of the others, and just then a black and red striped cat named Litten appeared to emerge.

It continually licked its front paw as if it were a lollipop, and right away Lucy recognized it as one of the 3 starter Pokémon Hala handed her back at the platform. Unfortunately, Lucy barely remembered anything once she found Aquarius, which was now something she felt the need to tell Natsu.

"Yea, listen Natsu…wait where's Happy?" She knew where one friend was now, but the other still appeared to be missing.

"Huh, gee I just thought he'd be with you." Natsu started scratching his head for a moment until he noticed the Poké Ball strapped to Lucy's belt as well, and then a fiery look took his eye.

"Happy will show up eventually, but how's about you and I have our own little battle real quick! Rival vs rival!"

Lucy sighed and slapped her face with a hard smack. "Natsu…I'm not battling you right now."

"Oh yea you are, grouchy! It's a rule that when two trainers' eye's meet, they have to have a…!"

"NATSU!" Lucy snapped off. "I'M NOT…ugh…I'm not going to battle you. Trust me, it's for your own good."

Natsu looked completely taken away by that warning. "Huh!? What's that supposed to…!?"

Lucy continued to give him a death glair in order to make him shut up, and after a few more seconds, he let off his final steam.

"FINE! But once we start off on this Island Challenge thing, you and me are gonna be rivals!"

"Island Challenge?" Lucy started to acquire another puzzling expression before Kukui and the others stepped in.

"Four Islands!" He held up a hand with four fingers extended. "You will travel through the entire Alola region and complete our 7 trials, yea. You will also earn a chance to battle the four island kahunas, and possibly a chance to name yourselves Champions of Alola."

"That's awesome!" Natsu apparently knew less than he thought, because the moment he heard that news from Kukui, he pounded his fist together as if they were ready to catch on fire.

Meanwhile Lucy let out a small smile. "That's nice and all, but we really need to find our friends Happy and Nigel, and then we have to find a way out of here while we're at it."

"I can help you try and find your friends!" Lily stepped up with a bright smile still glued to her face. "I-It's the least I can do after you saved Nebby for me. I kind of know my way around the region, and…"

She went to say more, but she stopped that train of thoughts and looked right at Lucy's bag. "Wait! I forgot about that item you found with Tapu Koko!"

Lucy stepped back a bit as Lillie surprised her by running around and looking in the Celestial Wizard's backpack on her own. She then drew the mysterious shiny stone that was given to the two of them by their island guardian deity.

"Kahuna Hala, would you mind?" Lillie held the stone in the palm of her hand as the elder islander started scratching his beard.

"Hm?" He took the stone and flipped it a few times over in his hand, and then looked back to the main trainer. "Lucy... Would you be so kind as to give me some time with this sparkling stone?"

Lucy went to answer, until Hala's eyes opened wide, as if he discovered something out of the blue. "Could it be?!"

He traced the mysterious zig-zag design several times with his coarse thumbs before started to explain the situation. He then looked right back at Lucy.

"You were rescued by Tapu Koko at the bridge— isn't that what I heard, Lucy?"

"Yes sir." Lucy nodded to give him full clarity in her answer.

Hala nodded back. "So it even deigned to give you a stone... Perhaps you are here in Alola, Lucy, because this is where you are meant to be."

He then smiled and flipped the stone in the air like a great big coin, and stashed it away in his great big yellow coat pocket. "Allow me to borrow this stone for now. Fret not! I'll return it to you tomorrow evening. It would seem that you have the makings of a fine Trainer. You must do us the honor of joining in our festival tomorrow!"

"Yea I guess I can do that…" Lucy awkwardly accepted, and then turned back to her friend Natsu. "Hey where are you staying at, anyway?"

Natsu smiled. "Oh I was at Hau's place, unless you found a bigger home!"

Hau grinned. "Yea, I don't mind keeping you again, but I bet you guys wanna catch up. I'll see you both at the festival tomorrow!" He then waved goodbye and followed his grandfather Hala into their large island home.

Lillie politely nodded as well, and bowed as she stood next to the professor. "I look forward to seeing the two of you again as well! Lucy and …erm…Natsu, was it?"

"Hehe! Yea that's me, nice to meet you too!" He gave her a large smile that left her even more uncomfortable. "I never got your guys' names either!"

Lillie froze with embarrassment, and Kukui simply laughed. "This here is Lillie, my assistant, and I'm Professor Kukui! Why don't the two of you get a good day's rest and then come join us back here for the island festival!"

Lucy and Natsu agreed, and together the two parties split up and went off for the evening.

* * *

As 24 in-game hours passed, we now find Natsu and Lucy walking up the hill of Iki town from the trainer's starting home. The sun was setting just in time for the evening festival, bur even after a full day's rest, it appeared that Lucy lost a lot of sleep.

"Ugh…why did I ever agree to having you sleep in my house?" Lucy stared clearing bags out from under her eyes as she also tried adjusting the straps on her backpack to better fit her shoulders.

Natsu ignored her gloomy attitude, and matched it with a grin. "Hehe! I don't know why you're complaining? I slept like a baby!"

"Yea?" Lucy started scratching her irritated head. "Because you kicked me out of the bed…" She shook her head and started to walked just slightly out in front. "Okay, I'm not sure what this festival or island challenge both are, but let's just entertain these people for a little bit and get back to looking for Nigel and Happy."

"Okay!" Natsu cheerfully agreed. "Hey don't forget that Lillie girl said she'd help us find them too!"

"Oh yea." Lucy slowed down, and let Natsu pass her as she became lost in a thought. "Huh, she is an interesting character…"

"Ho! Howzit, Lucy? Natsu?"

The two Fairy Tail wizards both broke their conversation as they started to clear the hill, and right then the grandson of the kahuna, Hau, approached them with an energized expression. "Man, I thought you guys would never make it!" He joked. "Me and Rowlet have been waiting for ages!"

"Well you're not the only one!" Natsu agreed with Hau as he pounded on his chest. "Little Happy Jr. and I are ready to battle everyone at this party!"

"Happy Jr.?" Lucy laughed from that nickname and objectively shook her head. "Oh brother…anyway, it's nice to see you too, Hau! I hope the party is going okay."

Hau nodded. "Yea, except for the fact that you two haven't been here all day! Come on! My Grandpa's waiting at the battle platform! Hold on... Didn't anyone explain to you two about tonight?!"

Natsu and Lucy both looked at each other, and simultaneously shook their heads as Hau finished up. "Ah well, as long as we all have a good time, then I think we can call it a great battle, eh?"

"Battle?!" Lucy stepped back and waved her hands back and forth. "Why is everything in these games decided over battling!?"

"HAHA! Natsu howled. "Hey it's no different than the guild hall, Lucy! It's just as fun and dangerous as our fights back home!"

"Yea…" Lucy slowly fell behind her cheery friends Natsu and Hau as her eyes sank to the ground. "But Erza's not here to set you straight."

As the three young trainers gathered with the crowd, they all walked up to find Kahuna Hala standing alone on the platform with a stern and solemn expression. However, before Hala spoke up, Kukui decided to grace the crowd with his own introduction to the festivities. "A full-powered festival for Pokémon battling! We battle in the name of Tapu Koko, pitting our best moves against one another in friendly competition to please our guardian. Woo!" He then turned and discovered the newly arrived trainers had entered the town center. "Oh yeah, right on time!"

Lucy looked around, and easily picked out the grinning Kukui and smiling Lillie near the back right. She gave them both a wave and let Hala carry on.

"The Alola region is made up of our four islands. And each island has its own guardian Pokémon. Our festival today is held to express our thanks to these great Pokémon guardian deities for always remaining by our sides." He then looked around the quiet but focused crowd as a small grin took his face. "Well, we may call it a festival, but it's just this little thing you see here. There may not be many of us, but at least every last one of us here goes all out."

"I can live by that!" Natsu nodded and held his fist in the air. Lucy nodded as well and gave the kahuna her very best attempt at a battle-ready expression.

"Right! Tell us who to battle and we'll be ready to go!"

"Wonderful!" Kahuna Hala patted his belly and laughed. "It's settled then, you'll both battle each other!"

"WHAT!?" Lucy yelled.

"ALL RIGHT!" Natsu jumped in the air and yelled at the top of his lungs. "You and me Lucy! Ain't no backin' down this time!"

"Natsu, I wasn't backing down last time!" She tried to reason with him. "I was just…um…oh man, do we really have to battle each other?"

Hau laughed and nodded right beside his grandfather. "Yup! You both took me on, and I got smoked by both of your teams. Let's finish the trifecta and see who's the strongest between you both!"

Natsu wasn't trying to waste any more time. "You heard 'em Lucy. Let's see who's the better trainer here!"

Lucy paused for just a moment and tried to think for the best. "Yea…yea maybe we should! After all, we're both champions of another region in our own right!"

Before she could fully answer, Hala continued as if she had already made up her mind. He spoke up to the skies, as if the mighty Guardians of Alola were watching in the audience. ""For all life on our islands...and for those who undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts...we pray for your protection... for them and all Melemele." He then turned back to the two challengers. "May this Pokémon battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity—Tapu Koko! Before you stands Natsu—the Champion of the Hoenn Region, and the wielder of fire. Before him stands Lucy—the Champion of Kalos, and the one who has met with Tapu Koko."

Finally, he back-stepped off the podium, and made way for the festival. "Lucy! Natsu! Bring forth the power of your Pokémon!"

Lucy then turned, smiled proudly, and grabbed her Poké Ball. "Okay Natsu! You're on!"

"OH YEA!" Natsu was waiting for her to say that as he went ahead and grabbed his own Poké ball. "I'm all fired up now! Go _Litten!_ "

Natsu threw his ball, and out came the supposed Happy Jr, ready for an all-out fiery brawl.

Meanwhile Lucy went to chuck her ball in response, but just as the sphere left the tip of her last finger, she froze with fear. "Wait! No Natsu! I forgot we really can't fight!"

Too late. Her hidden reason finally revealed itself in the form of an angry Popplio. Natsu had to squint to read the name, but then let out a huge laugh.

"Ha! That's _Aquarius!_ What's she doin' here?" He then paused and remembered his place. "OH CRAP THAT'S AQUARIUS!?"

The Zodiac Goddess of the Sea turned towards the fiery headed trainer with a scowl of pure evil. "Well look who it is, the idiotic fire breather…"

She balled up a great big whirl of water as her eyes filled with a pale, blurry white void of rage. Then, her anger unleashed. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR MAKING THAT FACE AT ME!"

"AGH!" Natsu yelped. "Happy Jr! Dodge it!"

The small Litten leaped for its life and rolled out of the way of the oncoming column of water. It then settled its feet ad awaited its trainer's orders.

"Oh yea!" He yelled. "Now give ol' Fish Tail there a taste of your _Ember_ attack!"

"Prr!" Litten reared its tiny head, and shot out a small but very precise bullet of fire right for Aquarius's head. The tiny ball of fire moved at light speed, but as it made contact the absorbent skin of the rival sea lion snuffed out the fire and left nothing but an irritating mark.

"Oh no…" Lucy covered her eyes. "Now you've just pissed her off even more."

"I did?" Natsu looked over his Pokémon's head. "How do you know I…?"

Turns out she was right. Aquarius took very little damage physically, but being shot at by a tiny little fire cat was just enough to make her mad.

"Oh Good! Now that you've got a hit on me, I bet you think this battle's all yours!" Aquarius jumped up and let even more aggressive anger take her heart. "WELL I'M JUST GONN HAVE TO END THIS NOW! AGH!"

"AH!" Natsu screamed, expecting to receive a blast of water for both his Litten and himself, but as the wave only had enough power to wash out the Pokémon, luckily the battle had to end after the hit, or else things could have gotten terribly worse.

Lucy sighed and put her foot down. "Okay! Back in the ball!"

She tossed the ball as Aquarius pouted in her own, unusual victory pose, and then as the battle truly came to an end, Natsu had no choice but to smile and kneel down beside his defeated Litten. "Don't worry, we'll train extra hard next time and beat that mean ol' fish woman fair and square."

"Prr…prr."

The Litten had trouble opening up its eyes, but then gave him a soft smile as Natsu readied his own ball and sent it into rest. He then stood up and gave Lucy a bright smile. "Well, I think I owe ya a high five for that one, Lucy! That was awesome!"

"Yea, except for the part where Aquarius nearly murdered your Pokémon…" She raised her head and accepted his gesture. "Thanks, Natsu."

Everyone cheered and clapped, and as Hau jumped p and down on the side line of the podium space, Kahuna Hala clapped his hands and walked forward. "It was a good battle. With this, even Tapu Koko..." Hala stopped as the cry of a powerful Pokémon, almost the noise of a rooster, took the air space in an ominous moment. He then nodded and carried on. "Ho! You heard it yourself! Tapu Koko's song of approval."

Natsu held Lucy's hand, and raised it to give her a moment of victory. Everyone cheered louder, and as her eyes landed on two familiar faces, Kukui gave her a loud whistle while Lillie just smiled and held her two hands together.

Then, Hala snapped his fingers and started to chuckle. "Oh, I nearly forgot! I think it is time you take this, Lucy." He handed Lucy a large, white armband made of an almost metallic material.

Lucy accepted it and held it loosely in her hands as the kahuna carried on. "Your Z-Ring, a mysterious armband that can draw out the power that lies deep within Pokémon... It can bring forth their Z-Power. We kahunas can make them by refining stones like the Sparkling Stone that you received from Tapu Koko. Although until you collect more Z-Crystals during your island challenge, you will not be able to draw out the Z-Power of your Pokémon." He then narrowed his vision and looked right at her new bracelet.

"And yet you have already received that Sparkling Stone... It seems Tapu Koko took quite a liking to you... or perhaps it has a mission for you? Ho! In other words, it's time for you to get out there and start your island challenge! If you visit every island, maybe you'll figure out what that mission is."

Lucy nodded and then paused as more familiar faces joined them on the podium. "Um, that's great and all, but we don't really know what that Island Challenge is yet.

Hala laughed, and Kukui decided to field this one himself. "Well you'll start by heading down to Hau'Oli City. In other words, it's time for you to get out there and start your island challenge! If you visit every island, maybe you'll figure out what that mission is. Hopefully you'll receive some more help from some other professionals on the way too…"

Hau joined the celebration by jumping up and down. ""Sounds great, right? I can't wait to have a real adventure!"

Lillie nodded and gave her new friend Lucy a smile. "Professor Kukui asked me to help you start your trial. Tomorrow I can stop by and show you to your first stop."

"That sounds great!" Lucy lit up in her response. Usually the characters in Pokémon were enough to give Lucy a head ache, and so far many of the characters in Alola had too much energy in their system to sit on her favorable side, but there was something about Lillie that calmed Lucy down, and almost made her enjoy the time within the game.

That being said, Hala finally stepped back up and raised a hand in the air. "Very well! Tomorrow you will begin your first steps of your Island Challenge! And if you happen to finish the challenge as champions…? We'll celebrate your decision with a grand festival fit for the guardians!"

* * *

 **AH-HA! Happy is _not_ the Litten! So...WTF is HAPPY!? I dunno, I almost forget where I left him...**

 **FYI Natsu's gonna be naming his Pokemon some pretty stupid sh*t, so I tried having fun with it! It looks like while Lucy's team will literally be made up of her Celestial Magic (her Zodiac spirits) Natsu's will be made up of his magic as well (Fire-types? Maybe?) Also, they're gonna have a mini-rivalry throughout the story, but tomorrow's chapter will give you more information on the whole story-mode for the game...Also Lillie, Kukui...they all seem to be acting a lot more _normal_ than robotic NPCs. Readers from the first story could possibly agree with me? That's really interesting...**

 **New chapter tomorrow!**


	5. 4: The Island Challenge

**Author's Note: Up early today! Here's Chapter 4!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Four - The Island Challenge

* * *

Lucy sat downstairs in her luxurious Alolan home with her virtual mother standing on the deck outside. She was still sitting on the couch because Natsu, her valiant and loyal partner, was still asleep upstairs. He was just waking up, but only after Lucy gave him a few warning knocks through the ceiling of her living room.

"NATSU! We don't have all day! The sooner we beat the game, the sooner we find Nigel and teleport out of here!" Her eyes continued twitching after the loud warning delivered through the walls, and as such she slumped back down onto her couch, and considered a second nap to regenerate her own wasted energy.

"I mean…I'm going to deserve a nap once I get started on this campaign with Natsu _…*yawn*…_ after all…he is…"

 _*Knock* *Knock*_

Lucy sat up with an alert presence as she heard the front door of her house making noise, which had to mean someone was waiting for her on the other side. She straightened her ridiculous red hat, and jumped up with loose bags under her eyes as she reached for the door knob.

"Sorry I…!" She yelled out in embarrassment, but then caught the calm yet friendly face of Lillie standing on the other side. "Oh Lillie! Sorry for yelling, what's up?"

"Oh. Um... The professor said..." Lillie stopped to pause as she adjusted her voice to try and mimic the masculine Pokémon Professor. " _Hey there, Lillie! Bring me those great new Trainers. Woo!"_

She then waved her face around to try and remove her blushing cheeks, and attempted to speak through the embarrassment. "So I'm here to show you the way to his Pokémon lab, if you'll come with me. It's, um... It's this way."

"That sounds perfect!" Lucy smiled back, and made sure to grab her bag from beside the door. She quickly stepped out onto the front porch, but reminded herself to grab one more thing before leaving with Lillie. "Oh hold on. Hey _Natsu!_ Are you coming or…?!"

"Hey I'm here!" Natsu flew through the door and down the steps of the house. He had on a striped orange and white t-shirt, with black pants and flip flops, and wrapped around his neck was the trusty checkered scarf that his missing father, Igneel gave him many years prior. He went to run forward, but stopped to deliver one last smile to the new face in the group. "Oh hey! Sorry for askin', but you mind if I ask you your name again?"

"Natsu!" Lucy ran down and smacked him on the arm. "Quit being rude! Why did you have to forget her name, anyway?"

Lillie put a hand up to her chest, and felt her cheeks growing warmer once again. "M-me? Well, it's quite all right... M-my name is Lillie. It's very nice to meet you."

"Heehee! Hey, nice ta meet you too!" Natsu gave her a friendly wave and signature grin, and then marched off south expecting the two blondes to follow after him.

Lillie let a small laugh pass her lips as she beamed. "You...have a very nice friend, don't you? We should get going. I'll show you to the Pokémon Research Lab."

"Y-yea?" Lucy said with a face of shock and confusion. "Well sure…sounds _great_." As the three travelers made their way down through the southernmost route of Melemele, Lucy looked around and admired all the coastal environment had to offer, including the lush arrangement of palm trees scattered about the breezy hill. "Your home is really beautiful! I bet it's a nice place to live all year-round."

Lillie walked with Lucy as Natsu strolled ahead, and she replied by following Lucy's eyes to admire the thriving ecosystem as well. "Yes, it's a small island, but all of Alola is beautiful, a-at least that's what I hear, anyway." She then stopped to point out the path ahead of them. "You can only reach the professor's lab by treading through the tall grass here. He says he can research moves better when he is so surrounded by Pokémon."

Lucy sighed. "Yea, I know all about the tall grass…I'm starting to get horrible memories of Nigel yelling at Natsu and me all over again."

That made Lillie laugh, and she followed by pulling out a small blue spray bottle. "Since I'm not a Trainer, though, I have to rely on using Repels all the time. You do know that using Repel keeps Pokémon from attacking, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Right! But I can just us Aquarius to help me through it!"

"Yes…" Lillie nodded. "It's so wonderful that you already know your partner Pokémon…" She then clutched her bag as they neared the grass. "A-and about Nebby... Oh. I mean.. _.Cosmog_. Cosmog seems to be a very rare Pokémon. It came from far, far away. It seems to have a very strange power... It used that power to save me once when I was in danger." She then stopped walking and looked up toward the clear by sky.

"But some...other people want Cosmog for themselves, to use that power. That's why only the professor and Kahuna Hala and other people I can trust know about it..." Finishing up her heavy story, Lillie then turned right toward Lucy.

"C-Can you keep a secret? Can you…and Natsu…not tell anyone else about Nebby or what happened on that bridge? Please..."

Lucy lit up like a candle. "Awe, don't worry, Lillie! You have my word! Natsu or I won't tell a sole!" She then turned and noticed Natsu tripped over a cliff edge and landed further down the hill a bit harsher than expected. "Come to think of it, I bet Natsu already forgot about him."

As Natsu and Lucy fought their way through the bulk of Route 1, and Lillie followed with her endless supply of repels, the three adventurers finally made it to a ratty sea side shack along the southern coast of Melemele Island. While they stood outside, however, the three friends began hearing loud noises and objects breaking inside the house. This all followed up with a brash but muffled voice of the local Pokémon Professor.

 _"Oh yeah, Rockruff! Let's go! Give it everything you've got! My body is ready. Woo!"_

"Ahh..." Lillie sighed and placed her open hand against her forehead. "There they go again..."

Lucy laughed, and Natsu pounded his fists together with a fiery grin. "All Right! Sounds like a good ol' fashioned _Fairy Tail_ brawl going on in there! Hope they don't mind if Happy Jr. and I crash the party!"

Natsu plowed through the door, and soon after Lucy mimicked her new blonde friend Lillie by placing her own right hand over her head, and sighed in agreement. "Natsu…why is he so reckless…AND WHY IS HE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT _REGULAR_ HAPPY!?"

Lillie giggled, and then looked around at the worn-down building. "The Pokémon Research Lab has its own unique charm, as I think you might agree. I've actually been, um, imposing on the professor here for the past three months. I'm not much of an assistant, but it's the least I can do to pay him back for letting me stay."

Lucy shook her head. "I doubt that. I bet you're a big help to a busy professor like Kukui. He's probably thankful to have all the help he can get!"

Lillie smiled, and for a second she wanted to believe the new trial goer, but just then she looked down at her feet. "Maybe I'd be more help…if I were a real Pokémon Trainer, too..." The noises from inside the building grew louder and louder with the inclusion of Natsu and Litten, and right after the ruckus crescendo-ed, Lillie spoke up. "The professor... He never stops researching moves. Not even...inside the lab itself."

Her hands then found a new home up by her cheeks as she started rounding off a list of future chores. "Looks like we'll have to patch the roof again...And I had just washed his lab coat and finally gotten it clean, too. Now it'll be in shreds... and I'm no good at mending clothes... so he'll just have to buy another new one..."

Lucy felt a tear drop fall from her head. "Well that's probably why he doesn't wear a shirt…he and Natsu seem to have a lot in common."

Lillie continued to panic, but Lucy stopped to finally calm her down. "Hey! Hold on!" Lucy laughed and grabbed Lillie by the arms. "We'll head inside and see what's up first! Plus, it will give me a chance to reel Natsu in."

The timid girl in white blinked for a small moment, and then politely nodded. "Yes, we should probably go in before they do any more damage..."

Once Lucy and Lillie passed through the door, they discovered the tough Rockruff of Professor Kukui and the fierce Litten of Natsu were locked in a fierce battle. Both trainers were yelling commands, but just then the two Pokémon knocked each other out, and ended the battle prematurely.

Kukui and Natsu patted each other's fists, and then the professor turned to the extra guests. "Hey there, Lucy! Thanks for getting them for me, Lillie! Rockruff's moves were just so stylin', and I was making good progress with my research."

Lillie nodded with a quiet tone. "Of course. However I can be a help... I am supposed to be your assistant, right?"

Kukui laughed and nodded. He then put an arm around Natsu's shoulders. "And I'm glad you guys could help too! Natsu here came in at just the right time. He and Litten were the perfect people to help test out a new move!"

"Hehe!" Natsu grinned with pride. "No Problem! Hey Lucy, we're not thinking of leaving this world yet, are we? I'm just getting used to being here!"

"…" Lucy paused for just a brief moment in time. "Natsu…we still need to find Happy and Nigel, remember? Plus, we have no idea how to get out of here without beating the entire game!"

That sentence sparked a memory of Kukui's, and thus the professor sprang into action following Lucy's remark. "Say, Lucy, lemme see your Pokédex for a second, yeah?"

He took the device from a quick handed Lucy, and then began picking at its back plate before pointing up at the ceiling space. "So what do you think of the place? Not bad, right?"

Lucy took it as a joke, at first, but what appeared to be a run-down building on the outside actually turned out to be a lovely little home on the inside. The kitchen and living spaces were polished clean, research technologies were running power throughout the house, and many tiny Pokémon seemed to be frolicking about the floor and aquarium in the back.

Lucy had no choice but to contradict her previous judgement. "Actually, you're right. This is a really nice lab, Professor!"

Regardless of the answer, Kukui grinned. "But that's not why I called you here, eh? Here! It finally arrived!"

"Huh?" Lucy and Natsu both spoke at once. "It?"

Kukui was just about finishing with the Pokédex, but then nudged his tool right at his lovely assistant. "What's wrong, Lillie? Don't make me do all the talking! See, there's this Pokémon inside your Pokédex called Rotom…"

Just then, Lillie the research assistant sprang into action. "Oh, I can tell you about Rotom! It is a peculiar Pokémon, with a body made up of something like electricity. It can take up residence in machines."

Kukui chuckled. ""Yeah, buddy! And to put that crazy skill of Rotom's to work...It's the next generation of Pokédexes, but it's only complete once Rotom has gone into this body specially developed for it! A whole new way for people and Pokémon to communicate. Woo! And there's only a few of these beauties out in the world so far! And now if I power up your Pokédex with the parts that I just got in..."

A long pause took the room as Kukui finished screwing in a lasting gear, then the silence was stopped by a loud screeching noise.

 _*Kzzzt!*_

Then…a spark took the sight of everyone in the room, and suddenly a flashing ball of orange and pale blue light lit the living space. It seemed to have eyes and a smile, and after a short while to process their memory, Natsu and Lucy recognized the small creature and all its flailing.

"Hey!" Lucy snapped her finger. "I've had to of fought one of these before. It looks like a Pokémon!"

Kukui chuckled. "Hey now! Sorry 'bout that, Rotom. Guess I surprised you?"

 _*Zzzt?*_ The tiny beast seemed to be curious from its recent disturbance. Kukui paid it no future mind as he carried about with his process. "Rotom! Here, boy! I powered up your favorite 'Dex! Give Lucy here a Helping Hand, yeah?"

 _*Kzzttt!*_ The Rotom seemed excited to lend a helping hand, and as soon as it saw its new trainer, the little lightning rod zapped its way into the red Pokédex, and sent another flashing light searing across the room. Then, the tiny ball of light brought the once dead Pokédex to life, and flew out of Kukui's hands. The large portable computer flew around the room, and suddenly zipped into the bag of Lucy Heartfilia.

"Wha-!?" Lucy jumped from the quick action of her new Rotom-dex. "It could have asked politely before barging into my stuff!"

Suddenly, while everyone around her grew quiet, the small screen of the Rotom lit up, and a series of words flashed before its face. "Zzzzzzrt! Nice to meet you, pal! Gentle on the goods, okay?"

Lucy snapped back from its smart aleck comment. "Only if you follow your own advice…I already have one annoying companion to deal with!"

Kukui howled as Rotom tucked itself back into Lucy's backpack. "See, Lucy? Now Rotom can talk right to you! From what I can tell, yeah, it looks like Rotom has taken a liking to you!"

Lucy's skin tingled as her fists started shaking with slight irritation. "Yea, it better not get any funny ideas back there…"

Lillie shook her head with a sigh for the professor's ignorance and spoke her mind. "And this will help _how_ exactly?"

Kukui sat back and waved his hand around to explain. "Lucy hasn't been here in Alola too long yet. So I decided to give her this special Rotom Dex to help her navigate around."

Lucy smiled, despite her uncomfortable behavior from moments before. "Well, thanks Professor. That was really sweet of you."

Kukui nodded again with a welcoming smile. "You can see where you're headed just by looking at Rotom, and if you give it a little tap, you can even check out the Town Map!" He then waved his hand at Natsu. "Okay, now it's your turn, Natsu. Hand over the dex, yeah."

"Fine by me!" Natsu laughed. "I can't wait to see my little Pokédex come to life just like Lucy's!"

Kukui seemed to enjoy that last remark made by Nastu, and almost appeared to be hiding an unforgiving smile behind his hard-working expression. "Sounds good, cousin…but just a heads up…I got a different plan for yours…and…here!"

Then, a spark of light flashed through the room again, only this one was much darker, and looked to be all bright blue instead of bright red like normal Pokédexes. Then as its wild nature subsided, the tiny cybernetic creature landed floating in the air with two derpy green eyes and a great big smile.

"Aye! It's Natsu! And Lucy you're here too!"

"HAPPY!?"

Lucy and Natsu both shouted at the top of their lungs, and both their voices and heads almost blew through the broken ceiling of the professor's hut as they seemed to recognize two distinct cat ears, and two very silly large eyes covering the face of the new Pokédex presented to Natsu. They were also surprised to hear the loud and obnoxious voice of their missing feline friend tracing from the machines movements and words, and just like that, Happy spoke again.

"Aye! I've been waiting with the professor this entire time! He showed me his little friend Rotom, and explained how the Pokédex was supposed to work."

Kukui laughed again and leaned back with two crossed arms. "As soon as your little cat friend here landed in and heard what I had to say, he decided to make like a Thunderbolt and let me zap him down just like Rotom. Then I put him into one of your Pokédexes…actually, yea, he originally told me to stick him with you, Lucy, but I guess I forgot!"

"Teehee!" Happy shook up and down, and moved one of his robotic arms in front of his laughing face. "I wanted to see how long I could last with you, Lucy, before I drove you crazy!"

"Well gee…how thoughtful." Lucy held back all her strength to not punch the annoying floating cat Pokédex, but some force deep within her helped calm her swelling nerve, and carry on with the discussion. "Well, I'm glad we found Happy. Now we can set out and go find Nigel."

Suddenly, the door to the lab swung open, and in came the friendly face of Hau from Iki Town. He jumped up and joined the group with his usual cheery expression.

"A-lo-la!" Hau shouted. "The salty breeze sang to me and brought me here to you!" He went to say more, and noticed a large loft taking up half of the living space, and ran right over to the steps. "Whoa-ho-ho! Is that a loft?! That's awesome!"

"No, it's not!" Lillie shouted, and ran in between Lucy and Kukui to block the ladder up to her private residence before Hau got any ideas. "I-It's private! The professor has been kind enough to let me use it..."

Kukui smiled, and walked over to join them on the other side of the room. Lucy and Natsu followed while the professor explained. ""If you see a person or a Pokémon who needs help, you just help them... Right, guys? Hau?"

Everyone seemed to agree as he continued. "And that's why I'm letting Lillie stay up there in the loft. So, Lucy, I'm leaving this Rotom Dex in your hands! Rotom, you look after Lucy, yeah? And Natsu, try not to break your friend, Happy, cousin. I'm sure he's just as delicate as Rotom now that he's strapped up to all that hardware, yea."

Hau stepped up, and observed the floating Happy-dex. "So that's a Rotom Dex, eh? It's kinda cute."

"Aye!" Happy provided a cheeky grin. "Well I'm glad someone thinks so! Try convincing Lucy for me when you get the chance."

Lucy bit her tongue as Kukui carried on with his address. "All right, there are some important things you need to know about the _island challenge_. The island challenge is your chance to become the strongest Trainer around—the _island challenge champion_. Woo! It's a great adventure for you and your Pokémon to go on together!"

Lillie decided to jump in to help her mentor explain the situation. "There are four main islands that make up Alola, and a kahuna for each one of them. If you wish to be recognized by the kahunas as worthy, it's said you must clear _seven_ trials."

Kukui firmly nodded. "Lucy! Natsu! I want you and those starter Pokémon you got there to get out there and give it a shot! You were able to fully use your Pokémon's moves in your very first battle. I think you must have a talent for drawing out Pokémon's strengths, yeah."

Lucy tensed up, and wondered if this trial would deter her and Natsu away from finding Nigel. "Um...I'm not really sure..."

Hau pleaded with the blonde trainer from Fiore. "Come on! You've gotta do it!"

Kukui agreed, and turned to face Lucy directly. "You did just come to Alola, yeah, so I guess it's hard for you to relate to our customs, huh? But as someone who's dedicated my life to studying Pokémon moves, I really want to see you out there meeting all kinds of Pokémon on your island challenge. C'mon and give it a shot, cousin!"

"Oh yea!" Natsu put his foot down for the good of the group. "I'm taking this region by storm! And after I win the trials, we'll find Nigel and bust him outta here!"

"AYE!" Happy cried out. "Natsu's got this in the bag! There isn't a trainer on this island who can beat him!"

Lucy let the advice settle in her mind for just a moment, until the cheering optimism of both Natsu and Happy reminded her of every single journey they've ever been on before. She figured since they were there with her, this had to be just like their past experiences.

"Then yeah, I'll do it!"

Everyone clapped, and Kukui stomped his foot down on the ground. "Oh yeah! Here! Everybody on the island challenge gets one of these island challenge amulets."

Kukui pulled out two colorful keychains with an ornate island design. Then distributed them out to Lucy and Natsu. As they began pinning them to both of their bags, Hau spoke up. "I got one from my gramps, too!"

Kukui nodded, and put both fists on his hips. "All right then, Natsu! Lucy! You too, Hau! Get a move on!"

"Oh yea!" Natsu pounded his fists together. "I'm all fired up now!"

"Right!" Lucy raised a confident fist in the air, but soon lowered it in confusion. "What?!"

Kukui laughed. "To the Trainers' School! You've gotta learn the basics of being a Pokémon Trainer through Pokémon battling. It's a long road to becoming the island challenge champion, and the Trainers' School is the first step!"

"WHAT!?" Lucy and Natsu both crashed to the ground, and Happy closed his eyes in embarrassment as they seemed to be all tapped out from the overly long tutorial process. Lucy then explained. "We already know how to play the stupid game! We both beat Nigel's last two versions."

Kukui chuckled again, and ignored them as he turned to his old friend. "What about you, Hau?"

The young and confident Hau shook his head. "I'm good. I just wanna play with my Pokémon! I mean, uh, train with them. Right!"

"WHAT! NO FAIR!" Natsu sprang up with fire in his eyes. "If he's skippin' out then that means I am too!"

Kukui shrugged. "Haha, okay, cousin! You were a champion in Hoenn, yea? Why not Hi Jump Kick right over to Hau'oli City? I'm sure that's the best place for a veteran to start his adventure!"

"YEA! Ya hear that, Howly City! I'm commin' for you and your _gym badge!_ " He bolted out after Hau, and right behind him followed the confident blue Happy Pokédex, cheering hysterically with every second he floated.

"Idiot." Lucy whispered and face-palmed, and slowly stood up. "Does he not realize there aren't any gyms here? And he just got done arguing with the Professor on how experienced he was…"

Kukui ignored her concern and clapped his hands together. "Lillie! You take care of Lucy, yeah? Until she gets used to Rotom, help her find her way around!"

He finally turned, and after a sorry Lucy and smiling Lillie left the building to join the sunny Alolan day, the latter looked out toward the open path. "The island challenge... So this is how the people of Alola connect with the world around them."

Lucy shrugged. "I guess so…boy I hope it's not as hard as that last game I played. After all, I don't even have a full team to play with!"

* * *

 **Heehee...we found Happy! And to think he was a Rotom Pokedex the entire time...**

 **Loving the reviews so far, guys! This will be a fun story for sure. New chapter tomorrow!**


	6. 5: Fun in the Hau'oli Sun

**Author's Note: Weeeell! After my first week of being a teacher, I can actually say...my heart's still beating, I'm still breathing, and a I still have a pulse. I guess I can do this after all.**

 **Anyway! Let's get into the last chapter for this week! We're heading to Hau'oli City!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Five - Fun in the Hau'oli Sun!

* * *

Hau and Natsu ran ahead past the Hau'oli City Outskirts sign, and as their Pokémon followed in the cheery wake, Lucy and Lillie took a modest stroll through everything in order to give Lucy a better feel for the island.

"Wow, Route 1 is so huge!" Lucy smiled brightly as she found herself yet again peaking above at the trees and bright blue island sky of Melemele. "So we must be at the Hau'oli Outskirts by now, right Lillie?"

Lillie nodded, and enjoyed seeing Lucy's warm expressions as she gave her the quick tour. "I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying yourself so far. I-It must be hard to leave your home world and fight your way through a brand-new environment."

Lucy thought to give her a comical answer, but actually stopped to think about it. "Well, this is technically the third alternate universe I've been trapped inside, and that actually makes 4 for Natsu. I guess you get used to it after a while!"

Lillie politely nodded her head, and then turned to stop in front of a round white building topped with a shiny red dome. "Hold on a moment. Let me show you the Pokémon Center first."

That made Lucy genuinely laugh. "Oh you're totally fine! I have been in a Poké Center before, after all."

Lillie shook her head. "O-oh no, this might be a little different than Pokémon Centers in Kalos. Here, let me show you for real!" She grabbed Lucy by the arm, and led the blonde trainer through the automatic doors of the luxurious Pokémon Center on the Hau'oli Outskirt trail. While Lillie stopped to let Lucy look around, the Fairy Tal Wizard actually felt her jaw drop. She noticed that this center seemed to be much more inviting, or at least just provided a nice accent with the island theme and feel.

Lillie covered her mouth to hide a giggling face. "If you talk to the woman at the counter, she can restore your Pokémon to perfect health."

"Y-Yea…" Lucy's stutter mimicked Lillie for just a moment. "That much I knew…"

Lillie clapped her hands together, and read the situation from there. "It's amazing, isn't it? I can't stand seeing Pokémon in pain...Here you can also deposit Pokémon in the PC, or take them out. A-And at the Poké Mart you can buy all kinds of items that should help you during your trials. I'd take a look, if I were you."

"Oh I will, thank you!" Lucy gave Lillie a truly thankful smile. "And what's on the other side?"

Lillie pointed to the far-left corner. "Over there is the café area. I like to relax there sometimes with a frosty glass of Moomoo Milk." She then reached over to the wall and picked up and Alolan brochure to thumb through while she talked. "I read something in a travel guide about Alola once... Apparently each Pokémon Center in Alola offers a different selection of drinks. I wonder how they pick what to serve?"

Lucy nodded. "Sounds like the bar back at the Guild Hall. My friend Mirajane is a wonderful cook, and she's really good at making drinks too!"

"How lovely." Lillie agreed. "The cafés here may also offer more than just drinks. I've heard they also sell special treats, and that sometimes the staff have tips for trial-goers." She then sighed, and placed the travel guide back in its pocket on the wall. "We should head to the Trainers' School next. But have your Pokémon taken care of first if you think that they need a little aid."

"O-oh." Lucy paused. "Actually I was hoping you'd get me out of the whole trainer school seminar? I _hate_ to be rude to Alolan customs, or whatever, but we're really in a hurry to find Nigel."

Lillie shrugged nonchalantly and nodded as she led Lucy through the door. "I understand. If you let me speak with Kukui before we leave for town, he may agree to let you and Natsu truly forego the school. After all, it's a...a... What in the world?!"

Lillie and Lucy both froze as the saw a crowd of people covering the street, and then noticed dust clouds flying over their heads. Suddenly, a large brown bull leaped over a few heads in the distance, and gave the two travelling blondes a hint at what was going on.

"Well, it looks like we won't be going that way anytime soon, thanks to Tauros there..." Lillie sighed, because she appeared to guess who the owner of the rambunctious Pokémon happened to be. Lucy went to comment, but then noticed Natsu, Hau, and even the Pokémon Professor, Kukui, standing at the edge of the group. The two travelers joined their male counterparts, and before anyone could ask a question, Kukui chuckled.

"That guy's Tauros is pretty much a celebrity here on Melemele, you know?" He gestured over to the Kahuna, Hala, who actually found himself in the middle of the mess trying to calm the Taurus down. The Professor then turned to tease Lucy. "Show 'em what you're made of, Lucy!"

"No way!" She freaked out. "I'm not going near a Pokémon with _that_ name!" Lucy's starter Pokémon had already been replaced with her angry Celestial Spirit, Aquarius, so she could only imagine what other spirits decided to "pass through the gate" in order to help her and Natsu out of their mess.

Kukui and the other in-game characters looked confused from Lucy's response, but Natsu simply rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the wrist. "Agh…come on, Lucy. Let's go get the cow back."

"Absolutely not, Natsu! I'm not dealing with anymore of my spirits and their nonsense!"

"Awe, come on, Lucy!" Happy giggled. "I mean we don't even know if it's the cowman or not!"

"Mghhhh." Lucy stopped flailing around, but dug her heals into the ground as Natsu dragged her through the crowd, and up to the calm Kahuna and his raging animal friend.

Hala turned, and patted himself on the belly before blurting out his thought. "Ho! If it isn't Natsu and Lucy. Sorry for scaring you, friends. I guess it's time I get old Tauros back home."

"Uh, hold on there, gramps." Natsu spoke out. "I need to see what the cow does ta Lucy before you put him back in his ball."

"Natsu!" Lucy smacked him on the back of the head. "Quit making us sound so crazy!"

Happy let a tear drop roll down his robotic body. "Lucy, you're not exactly helping by smacking Natsu without explain why…"

Hala laughed, and imagine this must be another weird trick from Lucy and Natsu's home world. "Oh! But why don't you give him a little pat first, Lucy?"

"R-really…?" Lucy shivered from the thought of petting the raging bull, but also feared for the worst when she imagined the bull coming to life and taking the persona of her perverted annoying cow, _Taurus the Golden Bull_. She shivered as she reached out her hand, and just as the bull leaned into accept the gesture, it…

"Ha!" Natsu howled. "See, Happy was right. That thing's just a Pokémon!"

Lucy opened her eyes, and noticed the regular Taurus was now calm and waiting along the side of the road. She then stepped back and let out a deep sigh. "Man, I need to head back to that café and relax for a moment."

Hala even stepped back with it and roared with laughter. "Ha ha ha! You see that? This rascal already loves you! Pokémon become happier when we show them some care. Wa ha ha! Oh the places you'll go, child! And as you do, you will surely meet more Pokémon and people who will enrich your life."

"Y-yea…" Lucy rubbed her head. "I hope you're right about that this time around."

Hala then grabbed the Taurus by the back hair on its neck, and led it further on the sidewalk. "Lucy! Natsu! You two stand back, now. Old kahuna Hala will take care of this ornery Tauros! Why don't the two of you take a stroll through Hau'oli?"

As the big boss of Melemele continued walking his Tauros in the opposite direction, the crowd dissipated, and Hau and Lillie rejoined their two Fairy friends. Hau spoke his mind first. "The kahunas sure are something, eh? Able to calm a raging Pokémon without even needing to battle... Now that's something! I mean, I like Tauros plenty and all... but it is pretty scary! I don't want to ride on it!"

He then turned to face his pale friend, Lillie. "So where are you two off to now?"

Lillie smiled calmly now that Tauros was out of the way. "I was thinking I should show Lucy around Hau'oli City a bit. You and Natsu are more than welcome to come with us."

Hau leaned back on one leg, and placed his hands behind his head. "Nice idea! You're always on top of things, Lillie! Lucy and Natsu just got here to Alola, huh? Then let me tag along, too! I wanna go get something good to eat!"

"Yea!" Natsu shouted. "I'm ready to relax a bit too before we head out for our first trial. We may even find a few trainers to battle over on that beach!"

Lucy shook her head with a grin. "Yea, I could give Aquarius some training. Also, this would be a great time for you to show me those stores you mentioned, Lillie!"

Lillie nodded, and firmly clutched Nebby and her bag as she delivered one lasting smile. "All right. Let's all go together."

Hau jumped up in the air, and ran halfway down the road. "Then what're we waiting for! This way! Come on!"

The next hour was spent up rather quickly between the four roaming friends. Lillie decided to show Lucy the shopping boutique, hair salon, and Hau'oli City Mall, while Hau raced down to the Hau'oli City Beachfront to follow Natsu's suggestion and scout for trainers. Natsu actually managed to follow up on his own advice, and the two trainers spent their time taking out any owner of a Pokémon they could find.

Hau ran through the sand after defeating his final trainer, and finally caught back up to Natsu "Beach time! Yeaaahhh!"

The fiery pink haired trainer let out a friendly chuckle. "I guess it is! Man you've got more energy than I do, and I don't go around saying that to a lot of people!"

Hau shrugged and smiled. "Eh, I think I get it from my grandpa, he's a fighting legend here on Melemele anyway." He then dug his feet deep into the sand and let his mind run for a moment. "Now that I've got some fuel in me, I wanna go right down to the Marina and scream out loud... Watch me, Tutu! No... Watch me, _world!_ I'm gonna beat even my old gramps someday!"

Natsu crossed his arms and smiled as Hau looked out over the water. The Fire Dragon Wizard then nodded. "Yep, Hala sounds a lot like Igneel. Always motivatin' ya to try your very best."

Hau turned, and went to make a remark back, but then noticed Natsu got a wicked look in his eye to match his mischievous grin, and quickly grabbed his Poké Ball right from his belt. The Dragon Slayer then spoke. "But anyway, looks like you and me are the only two trainers left on the beach! What'ya say we try a battle here and now!?"

Hau clapped his hands together, and then grabbed his own Poké Ball. "You're on Natsu! Lucy may have beaten us both, but let's see who the stronger trainer is between us this early on in our trial!"

* * *

While Natsu and Hau clashed on the beaches of Alola, Lucy and Lillie continued their leisurely stroll through Hau'oli City, but more specifically its lively and thriving Shopping District down town.

Lucy looked up at all the sky scrapers and beamed with delight as she let the warm Alolan sun wash over her face with a welcoming tone. She also managed to purchase new clothing items with Lillie at several shopping centers along the street, including a new blue two-piece swim suit and white beach skirt that she decided to wear out now. She also managed to find a pair of black sunglasses, but kept them over her pig-tailed head while walking with Lillie. Meanwhile the girl in all-white claimed to buy some new clothing, but decided to keep her old wardrobe on for the remainder of the journey.

"Oh. Lucy..." Lillie spoke up as the two girls walked together along the street. "Tell me, do you pick out all your own clothes?"

"Uh!" Lucy was caught off guard by the random question. "Er, I usually do, yea. Don't most people?"

Lillie nodded, but let out a faint sigh. "Of course... Most people do, don't they...I...I've always just worn the clothes that my mother wanted me to wear. I don't really know what kind of thing would suit me..."

"What?!" Lucy slowed her walk to catch everything Lillie had to say. "Sorry for the reaction, but that's _crazy!_ You should always get to choose your own outfit, or at least some of the time!"

"Hmm…you're…you're right, Lucy. I guess I should start thinking more for myself now that I'm in Alola proper."

Lucy followed Lillie's words, but could tell she did not seem to change her mind. As a result, the blonde trainer delivered a slight smile. "Forgive me asking, but do you have any _issues_ with your family?"

"…" Lillie paused, and stopped walking dead in her tracks. Lucy let out a loud gasp, as if she made the greatest mistake of her life. She felt as if she had finally made a true connection with her new Alolan friend, and quite possibly her first true friend within one of Nigel Thomas's Pokémon Games, but judging by Lillie's reaction, her message failed to dig deeper than the surface.

Still, Lillie looked quite alright, and even nodded her head with an embarrassed expression of her own. "Oh! But that's not why I stopped you. I meant to give you this, Lucy. I received it inside the apparel shop here." She handed Lucy a golden necklace, one that appeared to have a circular _Sunne_ pendant on the chain. Lillie also appeared to have one that looked very similar around her neck, only hers depicted the _Moone_.

Lillie looked flustered with handing over the gift, and even let a little pink brush her cheeks. "I didn't even buy anything, but they said I was the 99,999th customer to visit the store... But I already have a similar one, so I thought that maybe you might...want it?"

"Awe, Lillie!" Lucy almost let a tear roll down her now-virtual eye. "It's beautiful! You really didn't have to do that! But thank you, and now I'll have a souvenir from Alola!"

Lillie nodded, and watched Lucy put on her new necklace. "It looks like we have something in common now, don't we, Lucy? Hee..."

She went to speak further, but it appeared that Lucy and Lillie had just wandered over to the Hau'oli City marina on the other side of the pier. The dock traffic looked cleared for such a sunny day, but as they tried gaining a better view of the scene, they appeared to come across a young boy with pink hair like Natsu, only his was much more flamboyant, and he also appeared to be wearing a sweater/khaki combo school uniform from Ahu'oli City's Trainer School.

The boy turned to find the two girls wondering over his way, and as such gave them both a friendly wave to come over for a chat. "Greetings! Captain Ilima here."

"Oh? My name's Lucy, and this is Lillie." Lucy tilted her head. "I'm sorry but I'm not a local. Are you saying you're a captain of a boat here at the marina?"

"Oh heaven's no…" Ilima grinned and shook his head with humor. "But I see! Welcome, newcomer. I look forward to seeing the brilliance of your moves in my trial."

 _"_ _Trial?"_

Lucy paused, and tried to decipher the boy's words, but just then Lillie spoke up with a bright smile of her own. "Oh! Captain Ilima is the first trial on the Island Trail Challenge. I believe he runs the trial on Route 2 if I'm not mistaken?"

Ilima nodded with delight. "Indeed! We captains are the ones who conduct the trials you will face on your way to challenging the island kahuna. My trial is held in Verdant Cavern. The trial of _Captain Ilima_. You can find Pokémon living everywhere, even in the patches of tall grass in Hau'oli City…Perhaps you'll want to fill out your team a bit before attempting my trial?"

"Oh…yea…" Lucy placed one hand behind her head, and used her other to pat her lone Poké Ball on the belt of her white beach skirt. "Let's just say I'm still getting used to this one here."

Ilima covered his laughing mouth to show off his politeness, and gave both ladies a premature bow for departure. "I sincerely look forward to your challenge." But as he reared his head up, he could hear a group of loud and obnoxious thugs approaching from the entrance.

"Yo, yo, yo, check it! Whenever, whenever we meat you, _Team Skull_ don't even greet you!"

All three of them turned up the dock to find two black and white thugs walking their way. They appeared to have black masks covering their faces, and large skull-shaped medallions hanging around their necks. As they drew closer, the two foes stopped dead in their tracks, and raised both arms simultaneously past their shoulders to outline the top shape of a skull, and then dropped them to tap on their wastes.

The first grunt rattled off once again. "So, Cap, just give us the Pokémon, yo."

The trial captain of Melemele ignored them, and continued talking to a confused Lucy and Lillie. "Anyway, I look forward to seeing you at my trial. Look for my gate on Route 2."

Both grunts slammed their feet down, and ran right up in the tiny but comical Ilima's face. "What, what?! Why you tryin' to act hard when we're already hard as bone out here, homie?"

"Yo!" The other sounded off with anger. "Let's check these fools!" From there the two grunts waved their hands around with pure idiocy as the Lucy, Lillie, and Ilima all three felt tear drops rolling down the back of their heads.

Illima rolled his eyes and spoke first. "Oh my... How terrifying...Only thieves steal people's Pokémon. I won't stand for it." He then turned to the confident blonde trainer standing next to him. "Lucy, wasn't it? I'll ask you to take care of that one. I'll get rid of this one."

"Sounds good to me!" For once Lucy had the ready grin that Natsu usually wore glued to her face, and she swiftly followed the captain by grabbing her Pokémon. "You're in for a treat, buddy! Go _Aquarius!_ "

The grunt continued to try and mock Lucy. "Yo, check how I change the game with my made Pokémon skillz! Go _Zubat!_ "

The lone grunt tossed out what now appeared to be the only ball strapped to his belt, and out came the annoying purple and blue bat from Pokémon caves around the world, Zubat.

"No! Don't tell me that's you're _only_ Pokémon!?" Lucy, meanwhile, stood in horror as her menacing Popplio flew from her ball. "Are you _asking_ to be murdered!?"

"Yo, yo? This chick is tryin' ta break my game?!" The grunt ignored her as the slow minded Aquarius took the field with nothing to say. He then pointed his index finger to the enemy. "Zubat, use your _Acrobatics_ , yo!"

The small bat flew around uncontrollably, and finally landed a series of several small hits in the defenseless seal Pokémon. Yet, as the wimpy little flying/poison-type ended its raid, the menacing Water Bearer looked up with two glaring eyes.

"Are you serious right now…? Are you _really_ being serious right now?" Aquarius felt her left eye twitching with rage, and slowly wound up her magic. "I'm stuck with the world's worst bimbo for an entire game, and my first fight past the fire-breather's worthless team is against a tiny bat that won't even be able to float for one hit?"

"Um…" Lucy raised a cowering hand. "Aquarius, just go easy on it and see if it…"

 _"_ _AGHHHHHHH!"_

Too late. The mighty former mermaid of the Zodiac sent a large column of water sailing right for the head of Zubat, and nailed it to the floor of the marina, pinning it down with a full force of water, and ending the fight far earlier than expected.

"Aquarius used _Hydro Pump!_ It's Super Effective!"

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Lucy leapt off the ground and noticed the usual in-game message seemed to be wrong this time, but after further thought, she only imagined the virtual world was teasing her.

"Why…I don't…I'm not even sure I want to question it right now." She went to say more, but felt the small yet fierce Popplio grab at her far too short of skirt, and as Lucy fell to her knees in order to salvage her virtual dignity, Aquarius tugged on the skirt, and pulled Lucy down with it while she spoke her mind.

"Listen up, brat!" She stuck her adorable sea lion nose right on Lucy's. "If you even _think_ about using me outside of a meaningful battle, I will personally rip apart that Poké Ball you've trapped me inside, and stuff you so far down it you'll be trapped inside it along with this lousy game!"

"…" Lucy felt a sudden shiver cross over her back. The two defeated skull grunts felt their jaws drop to the floor, Ilima covered his mouth with widened eyes, and Lillie held onto her large white hat with a horrified expression open for all to see.

Aquarius waddled away from Lucy with extreme sass, slapped her fallen Poké ball, and sent herself back inside for storage. Meanwhile the victorious (yet simultaneously defeated) Lucy stood slowly to grab her ball. She trembled from the recent scolding, and tried to muster up a victory speech.

"T-There…hope you t-two learned your lesson…"

The skull grunts waved off their defeat, but kept their eyes open and alert. "No fair! I was playing a different game!" The second then ran away, but stopped to catch his partner. "Let's get up out this port, B! Nobody has to know about this! We don't need your wack Pokémon anyway, Ilima!"

Ilima let his face settle, and smiled as the two grunts ran off. "Again? Oh my... How terrifying..."

Lucy regathered her courage and spoke her mind. "Yea, they seemed like a bunch of freaks."

Ilima and Lillie both nodded, and the former turned back to look at Lucy. "My thanks to you and your Pokémon. Why don't I heal your team to express my gratitude? I must admit, I've been wondering about you since I heard about your arrival... Professor Kukui brought you along, and you and your friend seem to fight so effortlessly! Natsu is his name right?"

"Yea!" Lucy lit up, but then looked over Ilima's shoulder. "B-But I actually haven't seen him in a while."

Ilima nodded with an understanding face. "Very well then! Allow me to see if you're ready for my trial!"

"WHA-!?" Lucy stepped back and grabbed her lone Poké Ball. "U-Um, no offense, but I'm worried my Pokémon might actually kill yours if they happen to fight each other."

Ilima chuckled, but slightly nodded in agreement. "Well then! I'll wait until you are ready to take me on…"

"OY! LUCY! THERE YA ARE!"

Everyone turned to find Natsu Dragneel and Happy the Pokédex racing down the marina steps to join the crew. As the two made it, Natsu stopped to scratch his head. Like Lucy, Natsu managed to change his outfit into something more suited for the beach. He had on orange and red swim trunks, brown sandals, and his trusty white scarf tied around his forehead. He then turned back around. "Hey what was up with the two clowns back there? You guys crash a birthday party, or something?"

Lucy wiped a fair bit of sweat off her brow and sighed. "I think they said Team Skull? I-I'm not sure if I heard them right. Anyway Natsu, what have you been up to?"

"Hold on!" Natsu ignored his longtime friend and noticed Ilima held out a Poké Ball ready for a battle. "Who's this dude!? Someone I can fight with before moving on to the trial!?"

Lillie gasped, Lucy slapped herself square in the face, all while Ilima simply nodded as he tossed his ball low in the air. "My, in fact I am, but I'll tell you more once we finish our battle. Here and now."

"Oh Yea!" Natsu had no idea who this trainer was, but pulled out his single Poké Ball none the less for a serious fight. "Now I've got a fire in my belly! You're on, pal!"

Ilima agreed with his expression, and tossed his own partner into the sky. "Behold the magnificent Pokémon of the one and only Captain Ilima!"

* * *

 **Sooo...I may have cut _two_ of Natsu's fights off...Don't worry! I won't do that all the time, but I will be honest and say that if I can only show one fight in a chapter, it will be Lucy's because she is the focus character. However! Do not let that fool you once they start completing Island Challenges and Grand Challenges...I have a way of making sure you see both trainers at their game!**

 **Well, I'm going to enjoy the weekend off, and like I said before, I _will not_ be posting chapters on Saturdays or Sundays (Duh? Game of Thrones is still on!) Be sure to meet me right back here on Monday for chapter 6, and we may even be ready for a Trail Challenge by then...**

 **Until then, Alola readers! :D**


	7. 6: Trial 1: Breakneck Blitz

**Author's Note: OMG OMG OMG! Guys...Game of Thrones last night was out of this world!**

 **And now, enjoy chapter 6!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail of Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Six - Trial 1: Breakneck Blitz

* * *

"Happy Jr., roll out and hit him with another _Ember!_ "

Natsu was furiously jumping up and down as he and his lone Litten whittled Ilima's team to just a Smeargle. The Normal-type painter Pokémon was giving his fire cat a little more trouble than he would have expected, but he still kept a look of determination in his eyes.

"Smeargle, take the hit, and use your _Water Gun!_ " Ilima snapped his fingered, and watched his painter take the Ember right to the chest, and soon after gear up for a watery surprise.

"WHAT!? NO FAIR!" Natsu slammed his feet into the boardwalk. "That thing isn't even a water-type!"

"Ugh, Natsu…" Lucy grabbed the bridge of her nose. "Most Pokémon can learn moves outside of their typing…I mean I've only played one of these games, and even I knew that. Heck, you've even used thunder moves as a Charizard!"

"Yea, but it's not cheating when the player does it!" Natsu watched his tiny cat suffer a lot of damage, and noticed its health bar was now in the very low red. He then clenched his right hand into a fist. "And besides, we're not giving up yet! Litten use _Ember_ again!"

Litten coughed up a small bit of air, but shook its distress off very quickly from there in order to gear up for its next attack. It sucked in a new cloud of fuel, and leaned back on all fours to send a large ball of fire hurling toward Smeargle. The painter Pokémon was able to take the last hit very well, but this attack seemed to me much larger than the last, even though it happened to be the same move coming from the same Pokémon.

Ilima nodded, and smiled as his Smeargle fell to the much larger ball of fire. "Ahh, you utilized its _Blaze_ ability… When Litten's HP is below 1/3rd its maximum, the power of Fire-type moves is increased by 50%. Bravo! Well done, good sir!"

"Hehe!" Natsu gave Ilima a thumbs-up, and reached down to pick up his fiery little kitten. "Just using that trainer experience to my advantage."

"OH YOU ARE SO LYING!" Lucy shook her head with rage, clearly knowing that Natsu had no idea what "blaze" was, and instead just spammed _Ember_ because it was the fire-type move.

Still, even Lillie nodded and clapped with support. "Congratulations, Natsu! That was a wonderful battle…e-even though I'm not fond of watching them so up close."

Ilima put Smeargle's ball away, and walked forward. "Yes! You have emerged victorious!

You—or should I say you and your Pokémon— make quite the interesting team!"

"You're damn right we do!" Natsu placed a confident thumb on his chest, and dangled the small red cat in his other arm. "Me, my Pokémon, Happy, even Lucy…we're all here to win!"

Ilima covered his face again to hide a supportive laugh. "Oh, I do hope you'll come to Verdant Cavern and attempt the trial—the trial of Ilima! You can get there from Route 2... That Rotom Dex of yours will show you the way." He then turned, and decided to give them one last farewell before his northern departure. "Lucy, and Natsu, was it? I bid you both Alola!"

After battling Team Skull Grunts and watching Ilima leave, Lillie stepped up to look at her two new friends. "Oh! Are you... You're moving on to your first trial? You're going to Verdant Cavern?"

Lucy shrugged, and held the same confidence Natsu usually has as she made her reply. "I guess so! I think we're all ready to give these trials a shot!"

Lillie smiled with a calming attitude. "I read something in an old book once. It said that the island challenges were once a journey made to prove yourself and gain the strength to battle against the guardian deities of Alola. Like Tapu Koko... The people in Iki Town said that Tapu Koko loves Pokémon battles, didn't they? If we could meet Tapu Koko once more, do you think we would find the answer to why it saved you and Nebby that day, Lucy?"

"Gee…" Lucy put a finger up to her cheek. "I dunno. That would be pretty cool to find out, though! We should try to find him once we finish the trail challenge!"

"Sounds good to me" Natsu laughed. "I'm not sure I'll be ready to leave this place even after we beat the game! I'm sure Nigel can wait around wherever he is, hehe."

Lillie giggled form both of their confident faces, and gave them both a wave as she went to make her own leave. "Lucy, Natsu... Good luck to both of you on your first trial. I will hope that it goes well for you."

"W-Wait, you're not coming with us?" Lucy asked with hesitation in her voice.

Lillie rapidly shook her head. "Oh heavens no! I'm worried if I watch too many battles, it may make me more sympathetic to the amusement. B-But…!" She then reached into her bag, and pulled out two grey and yellow head devices. "I can at least give you both an Exp. Share! If you keep that Exp. Share on, all the Pokémon on your team can get Exp. Points from battle. You can thank the Professor the next time you see him!"

"No way!" Natsu cheered as he snatched his very quickly. "This thing saved my ass in Hoenn. Thanks, Lillie!"

"Yea, no kidding!" Lucy smiled, and placed hers in her bag. "This will come in handy once we get bigger teams. I can only imagine I'll have 10 Pokémon to train if I counted my gold keys right…"

Lillie nodded, and finally turned to make her leave. "I-I'll try to meet you both back at Iki Town. If you manage to win your first trial, we can celebrate with the villagers."

As Lillie walked up the marina path, Natsu went to make his leave for the trial, but just as he did, the pink haired boy turned around. "Um, hey Lucy? We goin', or what?"

"Yea…hold on." Lucy had to stop and think for a moment. "I'm thinking about the team I'll have for the campaign…Hey, reason with me here. Nigel was able to transport my character's data from the Kalos game into that _Delta Emerald_ game, right?"

"Right." Natsu gave her a quick nod. "She was my rival for the campaign, and she had all the same Pokémon you did. What are you getting at?"

"Hmm…" Lucy put two fingers under her chin. "So those Pokémon were only caught by me when you guys were in their bodies, then they became shells for the fake Lucy in Hoenn…but what about the other Pokémon I caught back in Kalos?"

"What?" Natsu was totally confused. "Like Mavis?"

"No Natsu!" Lucy cracked a smile. "I mean before I found Wendy…wait, you weren't on my team! Come on!" From there, Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand, and ran him up the pier and back into Hau'oli City. It appeared they were trying to make a quick stop to the local Poké Center before making off for their adventure, and it also appeared that Lucy had a small trick up her sleeve before starting her trial.

* * *

As Lucy and Natsu finished their time at the PC, and made their way past several beautiful sights along western Melemele, the two young trainers finally discovered the small region on Route 2, and quickly discovered the entrance to an ancient looking cave guared by ornate island totems. Standing in front of the two pillars was a very familiar face, and as he turned around, Trial Captain Ilima graced the two Fairies with his presence.

"Greetings. Captain Ilima here." He spoke with soft patience. "And my trial...begins mere steps from here in Verdant Cavern!"

"Now we're talkin'!" Natsu pounded two fists together, and Lucy kept her fists at chest level to show off her own tenacity. The trial captain liked their spirits, and carried on.

"Note that the Pokémon living within Verdant Cavern are quite fierce. I wouldn't venture in unless you've prepared some Potions and so forth. Through attempting the trials during the island challenge, one can exceed his or her own limits. ...That is what the Alolan people believe." He turned and looked down the mysterious dark cavern hole. "Once you enter Verdant Cavern, you will not be able to leave until you have completed the trial. Are you prepared for the trial?"

"You bet we are!" Natsu could start to feel heat coming off his hands, even though he wasn't back in magical Fiore. "I'm all fired up now!"

"Yea we are!" Lucy stood by his side. "You can count on us, Ilima!"

"Aye!" Happy even joined them form out of Natsu's bag. "They'll show ya how a Fairy Tail wizard beats a game in no time! Just watch!"

Ilima nodded, uncrossed his arms, and turned for the entrance. "I'll be waiting for you!"

Natsu and Lucy made no hesitation as they quickly followed the Trial Captain in. Lucy would have been lying to herself if she tried to ignore her own nervous thoughts, but every time she looked over to her confident, fiery friend, she used his energy to bounce back into the situation.

Verdant Cave was lush and rocky. Thousands of plants grew from cracks beneath the floor and above the ceiling. Wild grasses seemed to play the role as habitat for local Pokémon, but everything appeared to be quiet as the Trial Captain explained his plan.

"Let me formally welcome you to Verdant Cavern! I am your captain, Ilima. Allow me to explain the basics of my trial." He kept pausing for dramatic effect. "What you should attempt to do is...Defeat three of the Pokémon that lurk here in their dens! Then reach the pedestal deep within the cave... and collect the _Z-Crystal_ there! You'll need to be completely in sync with your Pokémon to succeed."

"Z-Crystal?" Lucy tilted her head. "What is that, again?"

"Who cares!" Natsu laughed. "We're both takin' one home! And anyone that loses has to buy the other one a meal when we get back to Magnolia!"

"Natsu?!" Lucy yelled. "Quit joking around! This is serious business we're dealing with here."

Ilima tried to laugh, but quickly snapped his fingers. "Oh dear! And there's one more thing I forgot to mention. Many strong Pokémon make their home in this cave, but one stronger and more fearsome than all the rest, known as a _Totem Pokémon_ , also resides here! It will be the greatest obstacle you face as you attempt to clear my trial!"

"Yea…" Natsu now felt heat coming out from of his eyes. "Now you're speakin' my language, buddy!"

Ilima stepped to the side, and raised a hand. "By the way, until you clear the trial, you will not be able to catch Pokémon in Verdant Cavern…This is but one of the _seven_ trials you will face during your island challenge. And…" Ilima gave them one last smile before lowering his hand. "It begins now! The Trial of Captain Ilima!"

Natsu and Lucy rushed forward, and searched the cave for any sign of life they could find. Lucy looked low, and Natsu check high, but nothing seemed to be visible in the light of the cave.

"Man!" Lucy tossed a rock. "I can't find anything in here!" She stood up, but just then a flashing red and white light popped out of her bag.

" _Zzzt!_ Maybe I can help! I think you're looking in placezz the game hazzn't quite coded for discovery…why don't you try searching for the most obvious placezz you see?"

Lucy had no idea how to respond to her loud Rotom-dex, but narrowed her vision anyway to scan her same area again. Luckily, she now found a gaping tiny hold at the foot of a rocky pillar, something she looked over as too obvious earlier.

"Right…" She remembered something Nigel told her from the last game. "These games are for _children_." Lucy threw her tiny blue Pokémon, Aquarius into the hole, and allowed her angry Zodiac friend to let off some steam inside the cavern. Then, the confident trail goer collected her Pokémon with ease before moving onto the next one.

She heard Natsu and Happy howling from the other side of the cave, and the fire breather quickly yelled over to his friend. "Lucy! We got one of the little mongoose thing!"

"Yea? Lucy smiled. "I found one too! I guess that just leaves us with one…!"

She went to continue, but noticed two thugs entering the back door of the cave, and as they started making similar hand gestures from before, the goons stopped and found a third tiny Yungoos hiding in a hole.

"Yo, yo, yo!" One yelled from his rocky perch. "It's your Poké thief boys, back…back again! Remember us?"

Lucy and Natsu met up in the middle of the cave, and Natsu started scowling with anger. "Who the hell are these guys?!"

Lucy bit her teeth together, but then explained. "Yea, I remember them…they were harassing Ilima back in Hau'oli City."

The second grunt stopped dancing, laughed, and turned to lightly smack his buddy on the arm. "Whoa! Even though we look identical? That's pretty impressive, actually!"

Grunt A snapped him back into it by shouting. "Who cares about that, anyway? We're here to mess her trial up, yo!"

Grunt B stopped himself before carrying on. "Oh yea, that's right! Yo, let's get that Pokémon, homie!"

Lucy stepped up, but Natsu put a hand out. She then stuttered. "N-Natsu?"

"Lucy…" He explained with more anger in his eyes. "You go on ahead. Take out the little one, and head on outside. I'll deal with these boneheads."

"Boneheads!?" The two yelled back. "Yo, Pink Hair is steppin' up for Blondie? This fool is about to get lit!"

"OH I'LL SHOW YA WHAT GETTING LIT LOOKS LIKE! GO _HAPPY JR!_ "

Lucy let Natsu begin his double battle with a single Pokémon, and turned to send out Aquarius to take out the lone young Normal-type standing behind the Skull grunts.

The mermaid snapped back as she whipped the poor Pokémon into a coma. "Blondie! I told you to…!"

"You're right, Aquarius!" Lucy snapped back as she ran through the cave. "This is _just_ the battle you asked me to bring you out for!"

Aquarius hopped alongside her trainer, and raised an eyebrow as she looked outside into the sunny grove past Verdant Cave. Everything seemed to be just as quiet, and a few tiny Yungoos running about the rim of the grotto. Lucy and her water Pokémon looked around the large column of a room, until she saw a shining white totem stand sitting alone in the back of the room.

"That's it!" Lucy pointed out the object. "Ilima said something about a Z-Crystal, I bet he was talking about that!"

"Well don't just stand here!" Aquarius ran forward. "Let's grab the thing and…!" She went to command her trainer, but right then both competitors felt a piercing gaze cut right through them…but they could not tell where it was coming from.

"There." Aquarius looked up. She pointed out a taller mongoose Pokémon standing atop the grotto rim, and so far, it had its back turned to the trainer and her partner, but as they seemed to be too close to the prized Z-Crystal, the large Pokémon sprung to life and landed in the den.

" _Gumshoos_ , the Totem Pokémon of Verdant Cave, has appeared!" Read a hovering message before Lucy's eyes.

She deduced that with her own wit, but still managed to gather some information from the message. "So this is the Totem… then I guess we're in the right place! GO _AQUARIUS!_ "

"I'm already on it!" She snapped back, but then noticed the Normal-Type's aurora lit on fire around its body, and suddenly its Defense stat rose immensely.

"Great…" The Zodiac spirit mumbled. "Looks like I do get to go all out after all."

"Yea you do!" Lucy cheered her on. "Let's beat this guy and take his crystal!"

"Tsk…" Aquarius ignored Lucy, and kept all focus on the Gumshoos. She flipped up and sent a small column of water soaring toward the Totem, and just as her _Bubblebeam_ launched itself at the chest of the enemy, the large Pokémon seemed to tank out the hit very easily.

Aquarius opened her eyes widely, and took a direct attack from a powerful Super Fang dealt out by the Totem Gumshoos. Aquarius felt her Hp split in half after the hit, and slid back from the forceful blow following the move.

"Aquarius! Are you all right!?" Lucy seemed very worried for her good friend and tiny Pokémon, but the Water Bearer was not about to give her any misinformed satisfaction.

"Tch…" Aquarius rose to her paws. "I'm fine, you idiot…I just need to get a better hit on it next time." She looked around the surface of the cave, and let out a tiny grin as she powered up her water.

"There…that might work." She shot out a small but pointed Water Gun, and watched it sail over Gumshoos head. The Totem laughed, and Lucy covered her mouth as she expected to watch Aquarius go down.

Before it attacked. Gumshoos yelled up into the cavern, and soon enough, a tiny Yungoos landed into the battle and joined its boss in battle.

"WHAT!?" Lucy and Aquarius both yelled at the same time, then the trainer took over. "These things can make it two-on-one!? That's totally unfair!"

Aquarius would have agreed, but instead she smiled as a now loose rock, cut off from the cave wall by her previous _Water Gun_ , was now cracking off the side, and as it made a swift tumble to the floor, it landed on Gumshoos back, and caused the giant Totem Pokémon to shriek with slight pain.

"NOW!" Aquarius charged up everything she had, and sent out a massive column of magical water right for the Totem. This once again appeared to be _Hydro Pump_ , and despite Aquarius's young level, the game did happen to recognized her immense power as a Zodiac spirit. The _Hydro Pump_ nailed Gumshoos hard in the chest, and sent it to its knees in defeat. Lucy went to yell something, but a familiar voice from behind her beat her to it.

"AH Yea! Wait-a-go Lucy! You and Aquarius kicked that guy's but!"

Lucy smiled and turned around. "Natsu! I'm glad you made it." She then turned back to the battle. "Aquarius was just getting ready to finish up on the Totem Pokémon and…!"

"Yungoos used _Hyper Fang!_ Aquarius fainted!"

"…" Lucy's eye began to twitch as her powerful Zodiac spirit fell to the ground in defeat. She went to curse her opponent, but instead turned up to face her surprised trainer. "I blame you…Lucy."

Aquarius returned to the ball on her own, and as Natsu felt his jaw hit the floor, Lucy sighed. "Well…I guess it's time to make my big reveal…"

Suddenly, a second ball lit up on her belt, and just then a tiny, yet slightly familiar Litleo from Lucy's playthrough of X&Y landed on the field. He also had a pair of shining glasses over his adorable eyes, and a cheeky grin underneath waiting for Lucy.

"Well, it looks like your shining knight has arrived to save the day once again."

"HEY!" Natsu pointed out the obvious. "It's _Loke!_ You found a second spirit!"

"Yea!" Lucy put an arm behind her head. "Loke, Capricorn, and Virgo were all waiting inside the PC for me. Virgo isn't the same Pokémon she was back in Kalos, but they're all three in my party now!"

"Yes, we are." Loke grinned, and charged up a shining ball of fire. He nailed the little Yungoos with a swift _Ember_ attack, and ended the trial battle right there. "But only one of your spirits could win this challenge for you, Lovely. No thanks are necessary."

"Yea…" Lucy shook her head. "Aquarius did manage to take out the Totem Pokémon." Lucy strutted ahead, grabbed the Z-Crystal off its podium, and smiled with delight. "And now I have _this!_ "

Natsu howled with laughter, and Loke nodded with approval as his master and trainer won the trial, and claimed her prized Z-Crystal for herself. Natsu then spoke up as they began walking out of the cave. "Well gee! I'm glad I had those Team Skull guys to beat down on. I'm a little upset I don't get to fight the Totem guy!"

"Yea, good point!" Lucy said with a sad expression. "Oh well. You can fight the next one once we make it there!" As Lucy collected her Pokémon, Loke, the two victors emerged from the cave and returned to Route 2. There, they came across Ilima clapping his hands in support, and greeting them with his usual calm smile.

"What an incredible Trainer you are!" He saw Lucy tossing the Z-Crystal up in the air with pride. "For you to be able to defeat the Totem Pokémon that I had trained up to such a powerful state... I don't know what I can say!"

"Yea, well…" Lucy patted on her row of 4 Poké Balls. "Let's say I put my guys through some training as well. We have a really strong bond whenever we fight together."

Ilima nodded. "Working in harmony with your Pokémon, you have cleared the trial of Ilima! You're a phenomenal Trainer! Congratulations, Lucy! The Z-Crystal from the pedestal is yours now!" He then gestured to the tiny white crystal in Lucy's hand. "What you have just received is the Normal Z-Crystal! It is known as _Normalium Z!_ Now if you let a Pokémon that can use a Normal-type move hold that..."

He went to say more, but stopped just short as he crossed both arms, flung them around in a flamboyant dance move, and finished by creating a sturdy Z with his arms. Lucy and Natsu's jaws dropped as Ilima continued. "and strike an elegant pose like this one... then you will be able to strengthen a Normal-type move by unleashing Z-Power!"

"Whoa, you're kidding!" Natsu howled with laughter. "We get to do goofy dance moves with our Pokémon now?! That's awesome!"

"Is it?" Lucy tensed up. "It looked kind of silly to me…"

Ilima covered his face like he usually does when laughing, and waved a hand. "Moving right along... Ah, yes. First, there is one thing I forgot to mention. The Totem Pokémon! In every locale where a captain holds his or her trials, you will encounter a particularly strong Pokémon, like Gumshoos just now. And during battles against such Pokémon, they may summon allies to shore up their offense. It's not a tactic often seen in other regions. Perhaps Pokémon in Alola are simply more inclined to help one another?"

"Yea…" Lucy still sounded salty. "That would've been nice to know going in…"

Ilima ignored her. "Since you have managed to defeat the Totem Pokémon and proved yourself, you can now try to catch any of the Pokémon you find here in this cave. In fact, have some Great Balls. And here, let me see to your Pokémon after all of their hard work in there!" The trial captain healed Lucy's team entirely, and then turned for the main route. "If we're done here, I have something interesting I'd like to show you. Come with me to Route 3."

Lucy and Natsu followed Ilima just around the corner to another Totem looking gate. He then explained. "As you travel around the islands of Alola, you will find captains' barricades here and there. These barricades help mark areas where particularly strong Pokémon can be found. Anyone can pass through them, of course, if they are escorted by a strong Trainer. Those attempting the island challenge can pass the barricades, as long as they clear the trials. Are you ready? Then behold the power of a captain!"

Ilima actually did nothing, and let his large and slightly buff trial assistants move the barricades for him. He then nodded with approval. "Voila! Your world just got a little bigger. I am the only captain here on Melemele Island, meaning my trial is the only one here. Now that you have cleared the trial, please inform our island kahuna, Hala!"

"Oh yea!" Natsu went to run through the gate, but just the one of the very large assistants cloths-lined him in the neck, and caused the fire trainer to fall to the ground.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted in fear or her friend and bent over to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"Oy!" Natsu brushed her off and stepped up to the much taller Totem guard. "You tryin' ta swallow a fist full of fire today, pal!?"

Ilima laughed and separated the two brutes before a fight ensued. "Oh come now, he's just doing his job! Apologies Natsu, but…" Ilima scanned the Fire Dragon Slayer one more time. "I don't believe you technically cleared the trial. You need to defeat a Totem Pokémon, and recover a new Z-Crystal before moving on in your own right."

"NO WAY!" Lucy yelled out. "You're telling me I have to follow Natsu back in there before we can move on!?"

Ilima shrugged. "If you wish to travel together? Yes of course! The first part was completed in-joint by both of you, but we'll need to summon a new Totem and allow Natsu the opportunity to defeat it. Though, I am happy to see two friends sticking with each other, even when one is ready to move on."

"ALL RIGHT!" Natsu leapt in the air, and turned around to re-enter the cave. "Come in, Lucy! Let's go get me a Z-Crystal!"

"But…but…" Lucy felt her hatred for the Pokémon game series suddenly return, and dropped to her knees as comical tears poured out of her eyes.

"B-But…I was so close to moving on… _AGHHHH!_ EVEN WHEN I WIN I STILL LOSE!"

* * *

 **So Lucy beat the trial, but now Natsu has to go back and beat the Totem too?! Also Lucy got more Pokemon! We'll see what happens tomorrow!**


	8. 7: Grand Trial 1

**Author's Note: All right, we left off with Natsu going into face the Normal Trial. Can he beat the Totem and join Lucy on the next adventure?**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Seven - Grand Trial 1: All Out Pummeling!

* * *

"AGH! COME ON HAPPY JR., TAKE HIM OUT ALREADY!"

Natsu threw both fists in the air, and watched as his tiny Litten suffered two blows from the opponent Pokémon. One happened to be a brand-new Totem guard, and appeared to be a very chubby Generation I Pokémon known as _Raticate_. Though, this version of the classic monster was a lot larger, and appeared to be all black with thick cheeks and a new Dark-type added to its abilities. It also had a partner Rattata that noticeably had the same typing, and both trial Pokémon were laying into Natsu and his team pretty well.

"Natsu!" Lucy held both hands up to her mouth to better project her voice. "You need to take out the Totem Pokémon first! Remember, Ilima said it can keep summoning little helpers if you don't take it out!"

Happy, the blue virtual Pokédex, sighed. "Yea, I don't think he's listening, Lucy. He's better off just blasting through which ever one makes him angrier first."

The Rotom-dex also hover next to Lucy and Happy in the back field, and decided to provide his own two-cents into the battle. "Gee, thizz battle is shaping up to be quite the show! Zzzt, I wonder if Natsu will be able to pull through!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Why did Kukui have to give me such a negative Pokédex…Natsu will be fine. As long as he has another Pokémon other than his starter, I'm sure he'll be able to win this battle on his own."

Natsu kept watching as his tiny little Litten delivered more and more fiery attacks, and following each one, the rat-duo managed to deal twice the amount of damage onto him. "I dunno, Lucy. The little one's weaker. You sure I should be tryin' ta take out the big one first?"

"YES!" Lucy leapt up and down. "It's the boss Pokémon…ugh, I don't know…think of the Totem as the Gym Leader's ace Pokémon. You need to defeat it in order to move on!"

"Oooooh!" Natsu howled with a grin. "Now you're makin' some sense…Lil' Happy Jr, use one more _Ember_ if ya can!"

The tiny little black and red cat appeared to be beaten and bruised all over, but the fact that it's trainer had so much faith in it to carry out the battle did not make it angry to be there. Instead, it turned to give Natsu a small wink, and sent one last fiery ball of air right at Raticate's face, even with his own health flashing in the dangerous red.

The Raticate was still in low green health, but a flash of ruby red fire sparked across its body, and a small noticed for BRN appeared in red by its floating health bar.

"Foe Raticate was burned!" Read the usual floating message for Trainer Natsu. He pumped his fist with support for his Pokémon, and geared up for the next move. "All right, sorry again lil buddy. I'll see ya on the other side!"

"Meeew." Litten nodded as a large _Bite_ attack hit him right in the side, and sent his Hp to 0, which prompted him to return to a ball, and let Natsu exchange for his next partner.

"All right, newbie, show me what ya got! Go _Growly!_ "

Natsu tossed out his Poké Ball, and out came a brand new Growlithe from the Generation I group. It looked healthy and ready to fight, but its trainer's friends simply scratched their heads.

"Growly?" Lucy sighed. "You couldn't come up with a better name?"

"Oh, get off me, Lucy!" Natsu ignored his partner and pointed at the enemy. "All right, show 'em you mean business, Growly! Use _Fire Fang!_ "

Growlithe nodded, and ran forward to deliver a fairly powerful fire-type move, but only brought Raticate into the medium yellow, thanks to the Burn, it was quickly sent into the red, but a faint was not possible this round due to its powered-up defense from before. The Raticate sent out a second _Bite_ , but Growlithe jumped up and dodged it, only to be hit by a Hyper Fang from the smaller Rattata. It smacked into the ground, and felt its own health sink into the yellow margin, but swiftly stood up to await its next order.

"NOW END IT WITH AN _INCINERATE!_ "

"WHERE ARE YOU TEACHING IT THESE MOVES!?" Lucy yelled her question, and Natsu provided no answer as the tiny but powerful Growlithe fired off two fairly strong fire balls at both targets all at the same time. The bullets hit their mark, and as the Growlith stood proud, the Rat duo guarding the Z-Crystal Totem fell over in defeat.

"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!" Natsu charged forward, grabbed the crystal, and held it high in the air. "1 DOWN, SEVEN TO GO!"

"Six, Natsu…" Lucy face-palmed. "Quit being stupid. It's 7 total trials, and 4 islands."

"Yea?" He laughed while collecting the victor, Growly. "Well that's even better for us! Let's get on over to Iki Town and go find Nigel!" Natsu marched off with a strut in his step, and Happy plus Lucy's Rotom both followed after him in a cheery tune as well. Meanwhile, the lone, sane blonde trainer shook her head and looked up into a hole in the cave.

"Nigel…if you're back in Magnolia playing a prank on us…on second thought I don't what to know."

* * *

Lucy and Natsu finally emerged out of Verdant Cave with their two annoying Pokédexes, yet as they rounded the corner for Route 3, both trainers came across the same Captain Ilima that was standing there before, but he was also being joined by a new face as well.

"Well!" Ilima knew Lucy and Natsu were there, but turned to great the new comer. "The Pokémon Professor has arrived."

Kukui laughed, and shook hands with the young trial captain. He also noticed Lucy and Nastu coming up the hill from behind Verdant Cave's entrance. "Hey there, Lucy and Natsu! Oooh, looking at the expression on Ilima's face, I'd say you two cleared your first trial, yeah?"

Ilima realized Natsu was clutching onto his new Z-Crystal. "Judging by their own expressions, I guess they did, didn't they?"

"Yep!" Lucy held her crystal firmly in her hand. "We both beat two separate Totem Pokémon, and we're ready to move on to our next challenge."

Kukui and Ilima both clapped for the two victors, then the Professor shrugged. "Guess I better give you a little reward... Time to learn about Z-Power. Woo!"

"Sounds good to me!" Natsu cheered. "So spill it, Prof. What are Z-Powers, anyway?"

Kukui nodded, and led them over into a tall patch of grass. "Start off by selecting a compatible Z-Crystal from the Z-Crystals Pocket in your Bag, yeah! Then use the Z-Crystal you chose on a Pokémon! Z-Crystals are compatible with a Pokémon if it knows a move of the same type as the crystal. Have your Pokémon hold Z-Crystals, and you'll be able to use Z-Power in battles! And don't worry, you can use your Z-Crystals over and over on as many Pokémon as you want!"

Lucy followed along with bright eyes. "That sounds amazing! Is it kind of like _Mega Evolution_?"

Kukui smirked, and seemed to be very impressed with the former Kalos Champion. He then pulled out a Poké Ball. "Watch and learn, cousin! Go _Rockruff!_ "

As the professor's favorite dog Pokémon emerged onto the battlefield to challenge a wild Yungoos, Kukui continued with his tutorial on using Z-Power. "If it's holding a _Normalium Z_ and you choose a Normal-type move... you can use Z-Power! Check it out!"

Rockruff quickly struck a series of synchronized poses with its Trainer, Kukui to build its own Z-Power. It then became surrounded with an orange aura, and charged at the opponent wild Yungoos with a full-speed tackle, with dust clouds flying everywhere, and sparks shooting off Rockruff's hind legs.

Natsu and Lucy both jumped up in the air as the tiny Rockruff dished out one of the most powerful attacks either of them had ever seen, and the Fire Breather quickly spoke on his thoughts. "Whoa, that thing was vicious! I wish I had Z-Power when I was playin' as that Charizard!"

"I'll say!" Lucy agreed. "My whole team would have been better with Z-Crystals and Mega Evolutions all in one!"

Kukui ended the battle, and clapped the dust off both his hands as he walked back over to Natsu and Lucy. "Phew! Z-Powers heap all of a Trainer's feelings onto a Pokémon, yeah, which totally wears you out! Using Z-Power once per battle is all a team can handle, yeah."

"Oh? Ilima laughed with both arms crossed. "So is that why you've been looking so ragged, Professor?"

"No!" Kukui snapped his fingers together. "It's like I was hit with Amnesia! I forgot that I lost Lillie somewhere on Route 3! Think you could spare some time to help me look for her, Natsu? Lucy?"

"Oh no!" Lucy looked to be worried. "She told Natsu and me that she was heading back to Iki Town. I wonder where she went?"

"Hmm." Natsu rubbed his chin. "…Whelp! We're not helping her out by just standing here! Let's go out and catch us a Lillie!"

Kukui casually nodded like he always does, and turned for Route 3. "Thanks, cousins. Let's split up and find her, yeah!"

* * *

"Well, Lucy! Knew I could count on you, yeah! Thanks for tracking Lillie down for me! Natsu, can't say I had too much faith in you being the one to find her, yea, so don't mind me saying that!"

Kukui spoke the honest words as he, Natsu, Lucy, Lillie, and now Hau all walked down the road through Route 3 of Melemele Island on their way to Iki Town. Natsu kept his hands up behind his head, and laughed out loud from the professor's remarks.

"Ha!" He chuckled. "Don't sweat it! I was too busy fighting all those trainers for Lucy to make her way there."

"Yea?" Hau mimicked Natsu's hand gesture and walked along the side of the group. "Well I guess it took proper teamwork from both of you in the end. We probably shouldn't take anything away from that."

"Hmph." Lucy turned her head away from the others. "Well, thank you Hau for at least being on my side."

Lillie looked both startled and embarrassed to hear that. "Oh I want to thank both of you, honest! I'm too clumsy to be running around this island alone, anyway. I-I'm just glad I have you all looking out for me…Thank you, Lucy."

The blonde Celestial trainer lowered her arms, and sincerely smiled. "Awe, it's okay, Lillie. I'm not actually made about it." She then turned to the green haired Hau. "So Hau, did you finish your first trial, too?"

Hau smiled and nodded. "Yea I did!" He then turned to both trainers. "So you, me, and Natsu all beat that Totem Pokémon, huh, Lucy? Looks like we're getting pretty strong! But I wonder if I'll ever really be able to beat my gramps at this rate..."

Kukui howled. "Hala's probably rubbing his hands together in glee right about now, oh yeah!" he then stopped walking and sighed. "Well, I guess this is time for the _Grand Trial_ , yea, Hau?"

"Say what?" Lucy and Natsu both added.

"Heh heh, right..." Hau nodded, then turned to his new friends. "It's all a part of the trials, yeah? After you clear one island's trials, you gotta battle that island's kahuna!"

Kukui took over from there. "Taking on the island kahuna in battle is called the _grand trial!_ For someone like me who's researching Pokémon moves, nothing could be better than the chance to see some more fierce Pokémon battles! Woo!"

Hau stepped in once again, and reminisced about his grandfather. "I don't know about fierce..."

Kukui shrugged and kept walking alone. "I'll be the judge of that! Come on! Back to Iki Town! Catch that Tailwind and blast through Route 3!"

As the three trainers, Lillie, and Professor Kukui all enjoyed their path down Route 3, the entire group finally made it to Iki Town of Melemele. From there Hau went to heal his Pokémon, but Natsu and Lucy were both primed and ready to step foot inside the town's center and face the challenge that awaited them both.

Kukui stopped to breath in the Iki Town air before going through the town gate. "I'm lookin' forward to seeing what moves you and your Pokémon will pour your soul into... now that you've gone and cleared your first trial! That goes for both of you!" He then turned to face the lone elder man standing in the middle of the path a distance away from the others. "The Melemele kahuna is strong, cousin! He's a Trainer who can use Fighting-type Pokémon to the fullest, yeah. Might not be a bad idea to work on those Flying- or Psychic-type moves!"

Lucy and Natsu both nodded, and the Fire Trainer decided to speak first. "Well, if we have to take turns, who gets to go first?"

"Um…" Lucy thought about hat for a very short second. "Why don't you volunteer first? I-I'd rather sit out and take some notes before I go in for the battle."

"HA!" Natsu laughed as they both stepped up the stairs. "Sounds good to me! The old geezer reminds me of Gramps! It'd be great to tell Master Makarov that I beat him inside a video game!"

"I don't think it works like that, Natsu…" Lucy rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less as they finally arrived to the man in the yellow Hawaiian shirt. He stood with his shirt rolling in the breeze as they both watched and observed for his next move. Finally, the large kahuna made notice of their presence.

"Congratulations on clearing your trial in the Verdant Cavern. Good work. I suppose you are here to battle the kahuna? You think you and Lucy are ready for me, Natsu?"

The Fire Dragon Slayer spoke with fierce tenacity. "Definitely! There's a fire waitin' in both our bellies for this one!

"I have been waiting for this!" Kahuna Hala smirked through his big bushy mustache. He then signaled for both trainers to follow him to the proper center of town, back to the original battle stage where Lucy met Aquarius. Hala stepped on one side of the stage.

"Ho! I have been expecting you both. Allow me to properly greet the young adventurers embarking on their island challenge. I am Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island." He pulled out a Poké Ball, but stood patiently as he continued addressing his challengers. "Shall we begin? The final trial here on Melemele Island will be a Pokémon battle against me, the kahuna! It is known as the _grand trial!_ "

"Yea, yea…!" Natsu tried to sound rude, but he was beginning to grow impatient. "We know that, already! Just tell us who you wanna fight first and we'll be happy to oblige!"

"NATSU!" Lucy jumped off her spot. "I told you I want _you_ to fight him first! Don't get me roped into a fight just yet!"

"Ho!?" Hala laughed at both of them. "Forgive me, I guess we have you confused. Trainers in the Island Challenge are expected to gather their own Z-Crystals, but if two challengers wish to fight a Kahuna, we will always give them the option of making it a _double battle_ instead. This way we all get to experience the bond between partner trainers and their Pokémon, not to mention that it saves all of us time if we just fight one battle!"

"Oh no way!" Natsu beamed at the chance to fight alongside his best friend. "Okay, Lucy, you heard the man! Are ya ready to fight him together?"

"Together?" Lucy realized that with this being their third time playing Nigel's Pokémon games, and the fact that they were together at least one time in all 3 editions, the two veteran players had never double battled with each other as partners. Then, Lucy Heartfilia stepped into the ring, and grabbed her closest Poké Ball.

"Okay, Natsu! Let's do this together!"

"Sounds good to me!" Natsu spun one of his closed fists around in the air. "Let's give the island challenge a real _Fairy Tail_ touch!"

Hala nodded. "Well, Lucy! You have been entrusted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko! Now show me you and your partner Natsu's full power! "Old Hala here will also be going all out! Let the grand trial _begin!_ "

" _MANKEY_ , _MAKUHITA_ , GO!"

" _AQUARIUS!_ "

" _HAPPY JR.!_ I'M CHOOSIN' _YOU!_ "

All four Pokémon flew out of their respected Pokémon balls and landed on the field in clouds of white. The primate Pokémon Mankey, the sumo Pokémon Makuhita, the Fire/Dark cat Litten, and the Zodiac of the Sea, Aquarius. All four Pokémon were primed and ready for Natsu and Lucy's very first Grand Trial of Alola.

"AGH! LITTEN USE _EMBER!_ " Natsu was actually looking for the tactical burn instead of just using his only fire-type. He normally went fist first into battles like this, but he did not want to let Lucy down because of a dumb mistake on his part. Horrible memories of Lucy's 3 gym fight back in Kalos still plagued his memories every time he entered these games. He blamed himself for Lucy's one and only loss inside the Pokémon world, and his idiotic strategies would not lead to the same mistake twice.

The _Ember_ bounced off the Mankey as he spun around and dished out a hard-hitting _Karate Chop_ right on Litten's head. The small cat waved it off, but took series damage into the yellow. Meanwhile Aquarius charged up a _Water Gun_ attack, but only landed minor injuries onto Makuhita's skin.

After, the large sumo Pokémon punched the dusty ground, instead of the enemy, and sent up a cloud of blinding sand into his opponent's faces.

"Makuhita used _Sand Attack._ Aquarius's Accuracy fell! Litten's Accuracy Fell!"

"Grr!" Lucy clenched her fist in slight anger at the cheap shot move, but rounded off another command none the less. "Okay, Aquarius, use another Water move!"

"Well!" The cocky Zodiac chimed. "I'm glad you're starting to give me half the reins!" She charged up another _Water Gun_ , and sent it flying into the side of Mankey, leading it into the yellow health as well. She then waited and watched as the small monkey pummeled Litten even further, and just barely kept it alive with 1-Hp.

"Happy Jr.!" Natsu shouted. "Dodge the next attack!" He pulled out a Super Potion, and sacrificed his next move while the opponent Makuhita sent out a series of three semi-powerful _Arm Thrusts_. Aquarius felt them all in pain as she fell to her paws, and breathed heavily in the red of health. However, she ignored Lucy's chance to heal her.

"Not gonna happen, Blondie! I'm using my attacks while I have the chance. If I faint, just send that pretty boy Loke in after me!"

"Come on, Aquarius!" Lucy genuinely felt bad for leaving her out on a limb. "I can't watch you go down so soon!"

"AGH!" The mermaid ignored her, and sent a second powerful _Water Gun_ attack right for Mankey, since he seemed to be the primary attacker. It would have done little damage, but Aquarius's Torrent Ability allowed her water attacks to increase by 50% when facing serious injuries.

The Mankey fell over, and as Little tried to land an attack on Makuhita, the small cat missed by a foot thanks to all the sand covering its eyes. This gave Hala time to summon what appeared to be his final Pokémon. "Alright, time to see a Kahuna's ace in the hole! Go _Crabrawler!_ "

Just then, a small blue and purple crab with large boxing gloves for hands landed firmly on the platform, and as it did, Natsu laughed hysterically. "All right, Old Man! Give me everything you got!"

"Hmph." The Kahuna laughed. "If you insist…" He stopped for just a small second in the action, but quickly slammed one leg into the ground. Hala continued by rolling both hands over his head like a circle, and ended with several punches to the air in front of his chest as a torrent of magic summoned itself around him.

"The opposing Crabrawler surround itself with its Z-Power!" read the usual bad news from the in-game message. "The opposing Crabrawler unleashes its full-force Z-Move!"

 **"** **ALL-OUT PUMMELING!"** took Natsu and Lucy's next view, and suddenly they both gave witness to the crab Pokémon charging up brown and orange fire, followed by unleashing several large energy-powered fists of fury. The crab relentlessly beat the tiny Litten into a pulp, and watched as the small Pokémon fainted with relevant ease.

"HAPPY JR.! _NO!_ "

"Tch…" Aquarius rolled her eyes. "Figures."

Natsu ignored the angry fish, and Lucy kept a hand over her mouth as fire suddenly took the Dragon Slayer's eyes. "Oh that's it! I warned ya, pal! I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU WHAT A FAIRY TAIL TRAINER CAN DO!"

He summoned his next Pokémon, Growly the Growlithe, and without hesitation mimicked a similar dance that Ilima showed him and Lucy back on Route 3. He finished by settling his hands in a Z-Formation, and waited for his Pokémon to charge the move.

Aquarius actually gave Natsu a smirk for being impressed with his move, and sent a final current of water right for Makuhita's head, fainting the remaining fighter, and clearing a path for Natsu's fully charged Growlithe.

"AGHHHH! **_BREAKNECK BLITZ!_** "

Growlithe raced forward, and charged down the puny Crabrawler as it pummeled the poor Fighting-Type with a full-force Z-Move. Its cloud of dust and ash finally cleared, and somehow the inexperienced Growly managed to faint the Kahuna's ace Pokémon all in one hit.

Lucy jumped in the air, and ran over to hug a still enraged Natsu. He managed to calm down a bit, and even delivered a smile for Hala as Lucy wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You did it, Natsu! You used a Z-Move and beat the Kahuna!"

Upon being defeated, Hala collected his Pokémon, and clapped in a rejoicing manner. "Whoa! Well played!" He then stepped up and looked Natsu and Lucy over as trainers. "...Hmmph! The results come as no surprise to me. What fine Trainers...and what fine Pokémon, too!"

Lucy took Natsu's Poké Ball, and collected both of their Pokémon while Natsu collected his breath. Natsu went to speak for his side, but a loud shrieking noise shot through the nearby forest, and lit the eardrums of the combatants. Hala then howled. "Ho! And our mighty Tapu Koko agrees! Hmmph! Perhaps Tapu Koko is hoping that a day may come when you will grow strong enough to battle it as well..." Hala stepped forward, and placed a second Z-Crystal into the hands of his challenging victors, Natsu and Lucy.

"Accept these Z-Crystals! They both allow Trainers to share their power with their partner Pokémon!" The Kahuna readied himself for another Alolan dance move. "Observe, Trial Goers. If you wish to use the Fighting-type Z-Power, move your arm like this... then bend your hips like this and pose!"

Hala stood about face, raised his hands in a circular motion, then lowered them to his chest to punch the air vigorously several times in a row. Natsu tried mimicking him, but failed, while Lucy just stood and laughed at her goofy pink-haired friend.

"I don't know if I'll be able to remember those moves, Hala." Lucy mused. "But I'll definitely remember Natsu's for a while."

Hala slapped his knee. "HA! Now then, you two! With this victory... you have cleared all of the trials of Melemele Island, the first of Alola's islands! The Melemele stamp is proof of your accomplishments. With it, Pokémon up to Lv. 35, even those you received in a trade, will obey you!"

Lucy jumped up and high fived Natsu, and the pink haired hero accepted the gesture, but then started to silently count on his fingers after hearing Hala's words. Lucy ignored it and looked back to the kahuna. "Well all right! Maybe now we can try finding Nigel!"

Hala nodded for his new Fairy friend, then looked up to the sunny mid-day Alolan sky. "The moon in the daytime... The sun at night... Now to see if you can pour your heart into something that cannot be seen but is very much real. As you continue on your island challenge, consider what makes up the people and Pokémon that you meet: both what you can see and what you cannot. You will surely meet Nigel again someday."

Lucy gave him a confident nod, and Natsu actually raised his hand to give Hala a quick hand shake. Both trainers were proud of their current accomplishment, and were easily ready to move on for further discoveries. Kukui and Lillie were standing by to congratulate the victors, but suddenly a large noise came crashing through the south entrance of Iki Town.

 _"_ _Moo-aaarrr!"_

Everyone in the town suddenly ran toward the top gate to find the loud and angry Taurus from before charging up the steps and into the field. Hala stepped up and raised his hands just to calm the beast, but slowly came to a different conclusion once he had his arms raised.

"Whoa there, Tauros!" Hala originally prepped to defend the others from his rogue Pokémon, but swiftly let a light bulb sink into his brain. "I've got an idea! How about I set you up so you can ride my Tauros whenever you'd like? No reason why he shouldn't get to enjoy the island challenge, too!"

"WHA-?!" Lucy stepped back, not forgetting the possibility she dreaded before.

Natsu waved his hands and grinned. "Not me, man! I'll just use Happy if I need a ride!"

"Natsu!" Happy giggled. "I can't carry you around in this game, ya big lug!" The tiny Pokédex was right, but Natsu ignored him and let Hala explain.

The Kahuna readied a strange device, and smiled while walking up to Lucy. "I'll take care of all the little things you'll need in order to ride a Pokémon, Lucy! Why don't you hop on there?"

Lucy tried protesting the act as well, but suddenly a cloud of purple flashed over her body, and her appearance changed to something a mountain biker would wear to the Olympics. She shrieked with full concern, but then felt Hala grab her waist and lift her into the Pokémon.

"GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF MEEE!"

Lucy thrashed around with raw anger while everyone, including the Island Kahuna lifting her laughed with delight. He set her down gently, and patted the Tauros on the head. "The world looks a bit different from atop a mighty Tauros, eh?"

Lucy quivered for a moment, before the calm Alolan breeze brushed by her face as she sat atop the large bull Pokémon. She then took a very deep breath. "Y-Yea…maybe it's not so bad after all…!"

Then, instead of connecting Tauros to her new Ride Pager, a brand-new Pokémon ball suddenly appeared on her belt, and right away Lucy tried jumping off the monster.

"WAGH!" She yelped. "NOT HAPPENING NOW!"

"BAHAHAHA!" Natsu nearly fell over to roll around on the ground. "What's the matter, Lucy? It's not even the real…!"

Everyone stopped for just a brief moment as the Tauros made an odd screeching noise, but in fact, Lucy and Natsu heard the beast's actual voice.

"YES! _SCORE!_ "

The Tauros's eyes turned into puffy red hearts the further he spoke. "Having Miss _Loocy's_ legs up against me like that is all I needed today! This is a dream come _trooooo!_ "

"GYAH! I KNEW IT!" Lucy ran forward and high-kicked the Tauros right in the jaw. All the Alolan characters jumped up with crazed expressions, while Natsu nearly rolled down the hill with uncontrollable laughter.

"NO WAY!" He howled on the ground. "IT ACTUALLY WAS HIM BAHAHAHAHA!"

Taurus, the Golden Bull of the Zodiac, was yet another one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits to pass through the virtual gate, and follow her into the Alolan Region. As fitting as it sounds, the Golden Bull took the form of the bull Pokémon, Tauros for the duration in the game. He grinned mischievously and laid helplessly on the ground. "Ugh, sorry Miss Lucy, but you were lookin' extra hot earlier on the beach, today… I had ta work my way into your team."

"You're a total creep, Taurus!" Lucy put her foot down, but now realized all her new friends were watching her yell at a Pokémon they could not hear. Sadly, she just rolled her eyes and tapped her Poké Ball. "Ugh, just get in the ball…"

The others shook here heads, and just took it as another weird occurrence from the players Natsu and Lucy from Magnolia. Either way, Hala stopped with his extra laughter and patted his belly. "See, Lucy. Here in Alola our Pokémon lend us their strength and let us ride about on them!"

Lucy felt a second shiver roll down her spine. "Yea? Well this is a Tauros I'll be happy with sealing away inside a Poké Ball. I'll call on him only if I _really_ need his help."

Kukui agreed with Hala, but suddenly snapped his fingers. "All right! I got a little something for you, too!" He handed over a white TM and carried on. " _False Swipe_ is a move that will leave your opponent with 1 HP when you attack. Keep on catching more and more Pokémon, yeah, and tell Rotom all about it! But first, you've gotta go let your mom know what you're up to. When you're done with that, head on down to the Marina in Hau'oli City. Oh yeah!"

Kukui then turned to his lovely assistant as Kahuna Hala left the area. "All right, time to get the boat ready. Lillie, you gonna help me clean it?"

"HOLD ON, DID YOU SAY _BOAT!?_ " Natsu was still on the ground, but raised his head at light speed to catch that last sentence uttered by Kukui.

Lucy rolled her eyes as Lillie giggled, while Kukui and Hau both laughed and walked down the hill presumably on their way to Hau'oli City. Lillie uncovered her giggling mouth to confront the victor, Lucy. "Um... I actually wanted to ask a favor of you first, Lucy. If that's alright?"

The Celestial Trainer held her first serious smile after winning as Lillie came up to her. "Awe, no problem! What's up?"

Lillie grew very nervous all of a sudden, even with Lucy's optimistic attitude. "You see... Nebby is... Its real home is far away from here. And I want to help it get home." She then turned down to look at tiny Nebby, who actually appeared right behind Lillie's feet. "It's like I told you before... Nebby saved my life once when I was in trouble. Now I want to save it! I feel like there's not much I can do on my own, since I'm not a Pokémon Trainer... But if I had real Trainers like you and Natsu helping me, then maybe..."

Just before she arrived to the point, Lillie turned away with embarrassment. "But I probably shouldn't ask a near stranger to help, right? I know it's just my own wish and it has nothing to do with you..."

Lucy shook her head and grabbed Lillie by the hands. "No! Of course I'll help, Lillie! You can count on Natsu and I to help out with Nebby!

"Ayyye…grgh." Natsu was already dry-heaving on the ground after hearing the word "boat", but the two blondes both ignored him as Lillie replied.

The fragile girl in white felt a tiny sparkle of water forming under her eyes. "Oh, thank you so much. I'm so glad! I really didn't know what else to do! Then I suppose... The three of us will be heading to the next island as well!"

* * *

 **Well, so Grand Trials will be double battles? Cool! I hope Natsu and Lucy can balance being rivals for the normal trials, and partners for the Grand ones! New chapter tomorrow!**


	9. 8: Heading to Hea Hea City

**Author's Note: Well we had a trial victory and a grand trial victory, so let's keep the train rollin' to Akala Island!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Eight - Heading to Hea Hea City

* * *

"We-e-e are off! Come on, grandma! Kick it up a notch!"

The Island Challenge Crew was heading for the next stop on their Trial-adventure. Professor Kukui was holding the steering wheel inside the control room of the mechanical sail boat, and the other passengers had chosen to venture on deck to view the sea from outside. It was mid-day when the team left Hau'oli City, but after a few hours of travel, the night time sky had cast its blanket over all of Alola, which allowed the sparkling blue waters of the sea to fill up with vibrant wildlife of Pokémon galore.

Lillie stood on the port side of the boat as she frantically held down her white beach hat for the last leg of the voyage. "If we push the boat much harder than this, we may all end up at the bottom of the ocean."

Hau was actually the one responsible for the 'grandma' comment earlier, and decided to not leave Lillie out of the torment as well. "Ha ha ha! You're probably just worried about your silly hat flying off! I wonder what kind of island Akala is, huh? Seeing all of Alola for myself is half the fun of doing the island challenge!" He then turned to the other side of the U-shaped bow, where Lucy stood with a slightly worried expression. "Isn't this just the best, Lucy?!"

"Umm…?" Lucy honestly tried holding out on her response as she turned around, and noticed Natsu heaving and throbbing around on the starboard deck. She then sighed. "Let's just say it might be time to make for land!"

"Oh my!" Lillie finally pointed out the elephant onboard as she held her hat down with two hands now (thanks to Hau's comment). "Is he going to be all right, Lucy?"

"Um, yea!" She waved off their concerned, and turned around to lower herself down to Natsu's side. "Hey, Natsu. We're almost there, okay?"

The sobbing Dragon Slayer let one more gag come out of his mouth, and removed his head from the side of the boat. "Why does Nigel have to fill these damn games with… _urgh_ …boats?"

"I don't Natsu, but I doubt he has you in mind when he makes the story…" She sighed again, and sat down next to her friend. "Listen, I wanted to talk with you about the Kahuna fight back on Melemele."

"Oh yea?" Natsu sat up, and mustered all his strength to hear her out. "Well I have a short window to listen, so spill it."

"Fine." She snapped back. "You worried me when Hala fainted your Pokémon. I want to get Nigel back too, but Hala was our friend. We can't go losing sight of stuff like that while we're in this game."

"…" Nastu let his stomach roll again before making a comment back. "Yea…I'm sorry, Lucy. I just let the game get a head of me, is all. Nigel…" He remembered back to the tough time he had with Nigel's coaching during his playthrough of _Delta Emerald_. A severe loss during that campaign left the two of them angry at each other for a large portion of the mission, and even though he and Nigel made up with one another, Natsu felt responsible for helping him out here.

"I'm just wonderin' where he is, ya know? He's not a guild member, but he is a friend of ours…"

"Mhm…" Lucy's face looked very sorry to see Natsu distressed over Nigel's whereabouts. She tried breaking off the conversation right there to ease his mind. "All I'm saying is relax the next time we're left fighting a friend. We'll need all the help we can get in Alola." She then looked forward at Hau's signal to see city lights in the night time distance.

"And just like that, we made it."

As the entire crew landed in the new Akala town of Heahea City, Hau was one of the last passengers on board, but quickly jumped off and delivered a nice smile for everyone. "Land ahoy! All right! Akala Island, here I come!"

Lillie felt another tear-drop roll down her head on-cue, and laughed to herself. "Isn't it a bit late to declare "land ahoy" after you've already arrived onshore?"

Hau put his hands firmly on his hips. "What a stick in the sand! Help me out here, Lucy! It was funny, right?"

Lucy had her mouth open to defend Lillie, but just then Natsu's hand came from the boat, and the queasy Dragon Slayer dragged himself down off the stern, and onto the solid ground. "It's not funny when I'm dyin'...but I'm just glad to be back on land. So yea I'll go with ya, Hau."

Hau laughed and closed his eyes as he turned to Kukui. "What about you, Professor?"

The tall academic placed his own fists down on his hips and turned to everyone in the group. "The land is certainly ahoy, oh boy!"

The whole pier stopped, and blank faces took everyone in the group, that is except everyone for Natsu's tiny little blue Pokédex.

"HAHAHA!" Happy yelled out with laughter. "The professor's alright in my book, guys!"

Everyone on the pier slowly broke out with laughter, and even Natsu finally stood to join in it eventually, that is until a mysterious voice came from up on the street.

"Still haven't managed to find a shirt that goes with your lab coat, hmm, Kukui?"

Everyone turned up the road to find a tall, dark skinned woman taunting the Pokémon Professor with a sultry hand placed on her hip. She was being joined by a younger girl with dark green pony-tails, and as they stepped up to greet the newcomers, the first woman spoke again. "I've told you you're gonna scare off strangers looking like that..."

Lillie turned down to Cosmog and feverously opened her bag with fear. "...Nebby. Back into the bag."

She almost got it on him, but Kukui put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it, Lillie." He continued by letting the two strangers speak.

The first woman spoke again, and seemed to have a small, but friendly smile. "Why hello there. Nice to meet you all—I'm Olivia."

The second girl then poked out from behind the taller woman and gave everyone a kind wave. "Hey! Thanks for stopping by! I'm Mallow, one of the captains here!"

Olivia carried on. "I was on my way to see who was pulling into port and ran into Mallow here while she was out on a delivery."

Mallow nodded, and gave them all a bubbly smile. "Yup! My trial will be a chance for all the fine ingredients that make up your team to shine!" She noticed three trainers seemed to have Poké balls, but also felt a strong power coming from the visitors out of Magnolia. "Especially you two! Your Pokémon seem ready to cook with gas!"

"Always are!" The Fire Dragon Slayer bragged with confidence. "I'm Natsu! This here's Lucy!"

Olivia gave them both a nod, and carried on. "And Mallow isn't the only captain here on Akala Island, of course." She then stepped down lower and looked mainly at the professor. "So? What's the plan, kids?"

Kukui put both hands behind his head, and enjoyed the night-time breeze. "Yeah, that's up to these kids. It's their island challenge, after all!"

Olivia closed her eyes, and nodded with her arms crossed and a hand under her chin. "Yes...I suppose so." She then turned on one heel. "OK, then. Enjoy your time on your island challenge, kids, along with your Pokémon. I'll be waiting for my chance to face you in battle when the time comes. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got! Let's go, Mallow."

Mallow delivered one final wave, and Olivia strolled away with no final farewell as both turned for the streets of Hea Hea City. Lucy then made a comment. "Well Mallow seems nice. I wonder if she's the next Captain?"

Kukui walked ahead of the group, and stopped as he grinned to the leaving trainers. "I'm sure she wanted to come see that you made it here all right... But she'll never admit it to you! Hah! That's Olivia for you. She's a kind kahuna, deep down."

Lucy nodded. "Yea, I can see that too. But I'm sure all the kahuna's are kind people! After all, they have to be in order to run a whole island!"

Kukui shook his head, and grinned even bigger. "Hah, you may be right about that, Lucy. Yea…" he then turned to face the all once again. "There are three trials here on Akala Island. If you three decide you want to take on the trial straightaway, head up Route 4 there and keep on goin' until you get to Paniola Town."

Hau had his hands up behind his head as he made on extra comment. "Shoots, I know where I'm going first, and that is straight to the Pokémon Center! Plus I wonder what kind of malasada they make on Akala, eh?"

Lillie rolled her eyes with a smile and added on to that statement. "Maybe I'll see about some shopping of my own... And I should find out about the ruins for Nebby's sake, too..."

All three lively NPCs strolled out into the nighttime streets of Hea Hea, and suddenly the red and blue flashing Pokédex of Lucy's flew out and chuckled. "You've made it to Akala, big girl! This means a whole new Island Pokédex!"

"Grrr…" Lucy balled her hand into a fist. "Call me 'big girl' again and I'll throw you into the sea."

Happy flew over to the now startled Rotom. "Ya better do what she says, buddy. Lucy's not the type ta make random threats."

"No kidding!" Natsu cracked his knuckles and ran forward. "Now let's head on out to Paniola Town!"

Lucy watched Natsu and Happy fly up the street without a clue in the world, and yelled after them. "But we don't even know where…! Ugh!" She quelled her angry spirit. "Hey Rotom, you wouldn't happen to know where the Pokémon Center is, would you?"

Lucy finally made it down the street on her own, and totally lost sight of Natsu and Happy as she discovered Lillie standing outside a clothing boutique window. The girl in her usual white looked envious of the sportswear inside the shop, and put one hand up on the glass.

She forgot for just a second that other people were still out shopping, and even noticed a smiling Lucy looked right at her and Nebby from the side. "Oh! Lucy..."

Lucy shook her head and teased her new friend for just a minute as Lillie continued to try and hide Nebby. "You looking for new clothes?

Lillie smiled with a slightly embarrassed face. "Well, yes, I was doing that, too. But this little fellow will hardly sit still... I think Nebby might be interested in visiting the Ruins of Life. Apparently they house the sacred guardian of Akala Island. A creature called Tapu Lele."

"Whoa, that sounds a lot like Tapu Koko." Lucy put her hand under her chin. "They must be special Pokémon. I'd love to hear more about them before I leave for Paniola Town!"

Lillie brushed some of her long blonde hair out of her face as she finally got Nebby to calm down. "I wondered if you'd like to come with us when we go to visit the ruins... I mean...little Nebby here seems to like you quite a bit, Lucy..."

"Awe!" Lucy bent down and waved at the tiny smiling Nebby. "I did save him, after all. I'm glad he likes me! And I'll be glad to tag along!"

Lillie nodded with further delight, and looked down the road. "I'll be at Tide Song Hotel if you decide you want to come. I'm supposed to be meeting someone there... Someone very important to me..."

"Really…?" Lucy sounded genuinely curious. So far Lillie was very sweet to her and Natsu, but the girl in white was totally shrouded in mystery up until this point. She seemed to wear nice clothes, but she had to sleep inside Kukui's lab just to have a place to live. She also seemed very concerned with her family earlier on Melemele. Lucy stopped and wondered if it was a similar family experience to her own.

Lillie broke her thought as she slammed her foot comically on the ground. "And you! I'll have you stay in your bag, mister." She picked Nebby up by his core, and stuffed him gently in the bag. From there Lucy agreed to followed Lillie on her way to the hotel, even as the Alolan Moone drifted higher in the sky.

Lillie and Lucy made it half-way up the darkened streets before the former made the first eerie comment. "I've heard that there is a group of terrible people around who try to steal Pokémon. A group called _Team Skull_. I guess it was those same people we met with Ilima, earlier? W-We need to be careful if we want to escape the notice of such a collection of villains... "

Lucy nodded, but gave Lillie a very strong smile. "Yea, but don't worry! Natsu and I are Fairy Tail Wizards, and not to mention we're also veteran trainers! We'll put a stop to Team Skull if they get too out of hand."

Lillie wanted to believe her, but just turned her head over to the left to find Natsu and Happy way down the road shouting at a few wild Pokémon. She then covered up her mouth. "Oh my, well from the look of their actions, I'm worried others might mistake Natsu and that Happy friend of yours as Team Skull members too!"

Lucy slowly turned her head with Lillie, but now had both eyes narrowed with one of them twitching out of control as she made her menacing reply. "I guess you're right…let me go ring some sense into their childish brains."

Lillie had faith in Lucy to achieve her goal, but did not gamble on the amount of time she was given. "A-Alright, well I hope you're able to help your friends, Lucy! Nebby and I will try to find the Hotel on our own!"

 _"_ _Great…!"_ Lucy yelled inside her brain. _"Just when I was getting to know Lillie…I can't help but get the feeling that we have a similar situation with our family life."_ Lucy marched down the road half angry and have saddened as she had no choice but to stop her rampaging friends from terrorizing all of Route 4. Thus, she continued without Lillie, and slowly made way for her foolish friends.

* * *

Lucy finally made it to the dusty streets of the wild Paniola Town. Actually, "wild" was probably an over-statement as the entire dirt village seemed to look like a Ghost-town out of an old western film. The blonde trainer tried locating Natsu and Happy, but first noticed the Pokémon Center at the center of town. Once she quickly deposited her Pokémon for a quick refresh, she retrieved them from the nurse and headed back out to the open road. Then, when her foot landed in the dirt pathway, Hau from Iki Town strolled down from the other direction and gave her a bright wave.

"Hey, Lucy! Glad I ran into you... "He ran up to greet her further. "I found Natsu here earlier. We battled, and somehow my Pikachu beat him! I think he ran north after leaving the Pokémon center."

"What!?" She frantically replied. "You _beat_ Natsu?! How did he-?"

"Hehe" Hau stuck his arms over his head. "Sorry, I couldn't resist! Nah, I was only kidding with you. His Pokémon are too strong for me to handle this early on…but now you and I can see who's stronger between us!" He showed off a shiny new white Z-Ring, and gave her another smirk. "My gramps must've thought I did good enough in my grand trial, 'cause he gave me a Z-Ring, too!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow, and finally smiled back. "Okay, sure! Why not? I deserve a relaxing battle while Natsu and Happy run off together."

That made Hau laugh again. "Having a battle in a place like Paniola Town feels like we're in a real old-fashioned Western showdown or something, right? This is so cool!" He then lowered his head, raised it again, and brought up a shiny red Poké Ball too.

"Awright, Pikachu and team! Let's show this newbie what Alola's got!" He tossed out his tiny yellow rodent, and let Lucy lead off with the next move.

"You're on!" Lucy yelled out swiftly, and tossed her own Pokémon onto the field. She then grinned and took the conversation inside her head. _"And thanks for helping me out, Hau! I know exactly who to choose, now!"_ The Poke Ball landed in the dirt, and out came a small but slightly powerful Grass Pokémon looking like a goat all the way from the Kalos region.

The tiny but shrewd Pokémon bowed as it made its entrance. "Yes, _Laaady_ Lucy? I'm here to assist you."

Lucy winked and pointed out the foe. "Glad to have you help, _Capricorn_. And welcome back to Pokémon! Now hit him with a _Bulldoze!_ "

"I shall do as you command!" Capricorn bucked up and down as the ground beneath him started shanking uncontrollably. The small shock wave seemed to be enough to deliver STAB damage to the sorry Pikachu, but just then the small rodent bounced on its tail.

"We'll sneak in a _Quick Attack_ before falling to your Skiddo! Go Pikachu!" He pointed forward just like Lucy and made sure his tiny mascot rammed Capricorn in the head before leaving the field.

Capricorn went to retaliate, but felt his joints lock up with static flowing all over his body. Lucy looked over his health bar to find a PARA symbol denoting paralysis, and then checked Hau's face to find a cheeky grin looking her way.

"Hehe!" He smiled. "We NPCs have our own little hacks too!" He meant that Pikachu's Static ability should not be allowed to work when it's the attacking Pokémon, but the trainer had found a way to sneak around the ability, and trained his partner to deliver the damage anyway.

Lucy would have been mad if this were a serious battle, but she enjoyed Hau, and the moment of this fight. "Well, glad to know this will be a fair battle! It'll make winning that much sweeter!" She then snapped to her Skiddo. "His Electric moves are his strength, and they can't do much damage to you! Sneak in for a second _Bulldoze!_ "

"Agh…! Right!" Capricorn slammed his tiny hooves into the ground for a second time, and despite his speed weakness, the volts of ground energy sent Pikachu crashing to the ground.

"Man!" Hau collected his partner. "Your friends from that world of you're are super powerful! You'll have to remind me why they turned into Pokémon after we're done here!"

"Sure thing!" Lucy nodded and let Hau exchange his Pokémon, and just then his final teammate and starter, _Dartrix._ The flying, posh owl landed on the ground with a swoop of its hair, and left Lucy with an itchy head. "Huh…this will be a Grass vs Grass fight, I guess."

"Not quite!" Hau gestured. "Dartrix! Use _Peck!_ "

Dartrix happened to be Grass/Flying, and it was also a higher level and evolution than Skiddo. The small grass goat on Lucy's team did not stand a chance with paralysis and a super effecting move coming his way, so the Sea Goat of the Zodiac fell to the opponent, and called out to his master.

"I'm… sorry… Lady Lucy… I will try harder next time."

"It's okay, Capricorn." Lucy laughed a bit from his dramatic reaction. "I have the upper hand now, anyway!" She grabbed for Loke's ball, and almost let it roll off her hand until a small light popped out from her waist, and summoned a fluffy pink and white rabbit Pokémon onto the field.

"Hello, Princess. It's been a while."

"VIRGO!?" Lucy yelled as her new Generation V Pokémon, known by the name _Audino_ emerged onto the field. It was only a Normal-Type, and also did not happen to be the Pokémon she tried summoning. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Saving you and the others." She spoke with a monotone voice and two pearly blue eyes. "Isn't that what you wanted, Princess?"

"NO, IT ABSOLUTELY _ISN'T!_ " Lucy slammed both feet into the ground, and put up with Hau howling on the other side of the field just to yell at her quirky spirit.

Virgo nodded. "Apologies, but I'll have to let you punish me later when you're free." She used a quick _Dig_ attack to dodge a harsh _Razor Leaf_ aimed for her head, and then re-emerged for a further conversation. "Shall I win the fight for you, or would you rather have Big Brother come out like you insisted?"

"WOULD YOU STOP CALLING HIM BY THAT…!" Lucy kept yelling until the steam left her angry brain. She then let out a sigh and waved her hand. "I don't care, just do something."

"Very well then." Virgo nodded with two now-brightly glowing pink eyes. "Your wish is my command." She paused for a brief second, and sent a powerful wave of psychic energy coursing over the field. Then, the opposing Dartix opened its eyes with an alert tone, and felt thousands of tiny psychic rocks slam into its skin, which caused it to fall over in pain, and ended the fight before a single Z-Move was used.

"Virgo used _Psyshock!_ Trainer Lucy wins!"

"Nice!" Hau was a little upset, but laughed through it to congratulate Lucy. "How'd you come up with that kind of battle plan? You gotta tell me!"

"Agh…! Lucy's eyes and mouth were frozen as Virgo managed to win the fight with an unknown move. She then collected her obedient little spirit, and rubbed her hair with thick hands. "On second thought, it's a strategy I'd like to keep secret for now."

"Haha, ah Lucy, you're pretty funny sometimes." After being defeated, Hau looked up with a brighter smile than before. "Ma-a-an, that was some kinda battle! Our Pokémon all look like they had a blast, too!"

"You think?" Lucy wanted to correct him. "I was about to ring my last one's neck. They can be a real hand full sometimes…"

Hau understood, and let the stressed Celestial Wizard think it through. "Right then. Here. I'll share my bit of good luck with you, Lucy." He handed over some well needed Trainer supplies, and carried on with his usual thinking out loud. "You know, Pokémon battles are just, like, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But you're only really a loser if you don't have any fun while you're at it. Right?"

Lucy took a deep breath, but paused to collect Haus words of wisdom. Then she smiled. "You know? You're right Hua. Heck, you'd fit right in with Fairy Tail saying stuff like that."

"Really?" Hau remembered Lucy saying something about that place before, but did not let it distract him as he continued. "Anyway, I'm heading off to Paniola Ranch! I need to check on Natsu while I'm at it. Maybe you should come with me?"

"Huh?" Lucy looked alive and alert. "You actually know where he went? Where is he?"

Hau shrugged. "I dunno exactly, but last I checked he was up the route fighting some trainers. They looked kind of nasty, and they had some wacky hair and goofy skull bandanas on…"

Lucy's eyes grew wide as she grabbed Hau by the arm. "Oh no! That's _Team Skull!_ "

"YIKES!" Hau stepped back. "I-I'm sorry! I had no idea what they look like! We need to help him right away!"

"Not even!" Lucy yelled back as they both started running for the northern passage at the Paniola Ranch. "I'm worried for _their_ sake, not Natsu's! Knowing him, he'll probably try to kill them and break the game! Then we'll be stuck in here with Nigel forever!"

* * *

 **Well I wonder if Natsu's in any trouble...I really like the 3 way "rivalry" between Lucy, Natsu, and Hau (even though Hau isn't the strongest.) Also Lillie continues to leave Lucy fascinated and intrigued! I hope their friendship continues to blossom!**

 **New chapter tomorrow, as usual!**


	10. 9: Trial 2: The Hydro Vortex

**Author's Note: Okay! Natsu is missing yet again. Will Lucy be able to find him, and manage Akala Island on her own?**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Nine - Trial 2: The Hydro Vortex

* * *

Lucy and Hau split up once they made it to the large farming area of Paniola Ranch. This Pokémon reserve of sorts played the role of home for many Pokémon on Akala island, and breeders from around the region flocked to this area to help the needy creatures and protect the land from dangerous folk.

Sadly, some dangerous folk may already be lurking about on this side of the island. Lucy Heartfilia ran through most of the ranch's southern section, but to no luck, no sight of her ornery friends Natsu and Happy could be made. Even worse, now she lost Hau on the expedition as well.

"Oh man…" Lucy was worn out from her harsh run through the warm tropical air. "I'm out of breath already…not to mention I lost every one else! I'm starting to feel like Lillie." She was growing tired of seeing wooden fences, bales of hay, and grazing Tauroses flocking in the fields, but this is where the road took her on her search for her missing friends. Lucy kept her walk up as much as she could, and luckily discovered a collection of several buildings, centered around a large man standing in front of a paddock gateway.

"Oh!" The burly man howled. "You've got to be a trial goer, right? Well, you've got a good sense of timing! The captain's actually here, so come on!"

"The captain?" Lucy felt nervous, and wondered if this was the gate to the next trial, despite its rather rustic appearance. She followed the large breeder through the field, and suddenly they both came across a briefly familiar face from back in Hea Hea City.

Mallow stood with several Pokémon known as Miltank, and just as she finished giving the dairy Pokémon attention, she gave Lucy a friendly wave. "Thanks for stopping by! The Moomoo Milk from Paniola Ranch is the best. It's so rich and creamy when you use it in white sauce and other things... Mmm! The taste can't even be described!"

Lucy laughed from her very vivid description. "Wow, you must be an amazing cook if you can use Pokémon products in your meals!"

Mallow shrugged with a tender smile as she kept one hand on a Miltank's head. She then lit up with a thought. "Oh, by the way! Since I was lucky enough to run into you here, I'll do you a little favor." She asked for Lucy's ride-pager, and quickly scanned in a second Pokémon. It looked like a large dog of sorts, and judging by its brief description, Lucy imagined it would help her find hidden items.

Mallow continued. "See, Stoutland can sniff out items for you that are buried in the dirt where you can't even see them! When you're riding Stoutland, pressing the B Button to use that Stoutland Search is what…err, on second thought, you're playing through virtual reality, aren't you? In that case, forget what I said then! Hehe."

Lucy laughed as well. "Well, I'm glad I don't have to explain it to everyone. So Mallow, are you the next trial captain?"

Mallow shook her head. "If you go all the way down Route 5, you'll come out on Brooklet Hill. My friend Lana is up there, so say hi to her for me if you see her!"

"Umm…Okay?" Lucy scratched her head, and accepted that as a working answer to her question. "Well, thanks again! I'll see you around!"

* * *

Eventually, Lucy made it all the way through Route 5. She came across a few walking trees blocking a road out of Paniola Ranch to the south, which left her no choice but to continue on her northern voyage. She decided to give Stoutland a try for a while, because Route 5 appeared to hold all sorts of secret nooks and passageways. However, as she rounded one of the northern-most corners, the blonde trainer came across a couple of very annoying NPCs.

Two Team Skull Grunts were standing in front of a small hole in between two ledges, and while they stood blocking the path, they also made time to practice stretching moves in the tall grass. "Doing squats really uses all your muscles! My legs are shaking so hard, I can't move!"

The second grunt turned to face the first one, and nodded with agreement. "I'm not doing Alolan sumo! I'm not! I'm definitely not trying to be like Kahuna Hala!"

"Hey!" Lucy yelled at the two ignorant grunts when she heard that very rude comment. "Why would you say something like that about a person you don't even know. You two ought to be ashamed of yourself!" She marched off her Stoutland and went to give them a piece of her mind, but suddenly a blue and white forcefield blocked her from making a single step toward the men.

Grunt A raised an eyebrow. "Hey B, you think she's a _player_? I bet that's why she can't touch us!"

"Yea!" Grunt B howled as he slapped his squatting knee. "Hey, Blondie! You clearly can't go this way yet. Haven't you played a video game before, yo?"

"Grrr…." Lucy balled her hands into fists as she tried to let the anger of red fade away from her face. There were many times so far in Alola that nearly made her want to forget about the fate of her friend and the game creator, Nigel, and just leave him trapped inside his own world forever. This was definitely one of those times. Lucy stormed off the other way, while the two NPCs rolled on the floor from their protected space and laughed.

However, this proved to be very good on her part, because as she rounded the original path for the next part of the area, Lucy discovered her friend from Iki Town, and semi-rival Hau standing in the middle of the road. He was also joined by a very shady figure, with all-black cloths and messy blonde hair. Judging by both of their demeanors, Hau appeared to have lost a recent battle not too long ago.

"Ha ha ha!" The lively trainer shook his head. "Man, I lost again!"

"Are you even taking this seriously?" The shady figured snapped back. He did not appear to be as friendly as Hau.

Hau jumped up and down with a big, taunting grin. "I am! So seriously! I'm seriously enjoying it!"

"...Enjoying it?" The figure in black spat back. "You can enjoy Pokémon battling when you put everything you have into it... which clearly you haven't."

Hau went to make another smart comment, but then turned to find his blonde trainer friend from Magnolia enter the discussion. "Whoa! Hey, Lucy! This guy is plenny scary!"

The guy Hau referred too crossed his arms and glared over Lucy. "You're _Lucy?_ "

Lucy noticed he put emphasis on his words, and as such proceeded with caution. "Why do you care who I am? We've clearly never met before."

The boy closed his eyes. "Hmm. So you have enough sense to be wary. Not bad..." He then stood taller, and tried to appear more menacing. "I'm _Gladion_. I battle for my partner, _Null_ , to make it strong. Though most of our time gets used up doing small jobs for Team Skull."

"You're with Team Skull?" Lucy narrowed her vision, and reached down to grab a Poké Ball of her belt. The two tense trainers stood with locked eyes for a long while, until everyone in the group heard violent rampaging coming from a forest exit past Gladion's shoulders.

"WHY THE HELL DID IT HAVE TO BE _WATER!?_ " Natsu came out of a cave area kicking every plant and rock that stood in his way. A slightly depressed and confused Happy floated behind him with softly closed eyes, and slowly sighed as they both made it over to the group.

Lucy stood tall, and broke her concentration. "Natsu?! Are you okay? Where were you!?"

Natsu stepped into the circle. "Agh…don't worry about it. Say, what's going on? You two getting ready to dance, or something?"

"NOT AT ALL!"

Lucy and Gladion both yelled ferociously at the confused Fire Dragon Slayer, and Hau lit up with a second smile for his other friend's arrival. "Hey! Natsu and Happy are here too! We can go ahead and start the party!"

"Hehe!" Natsu smiled for the first time since he made it over. "How's it goin', Hau? Hope your day's going better than mine?"

Lucy collected everything Natsu was saying and doing as she now realized what was going on. The nearby Poké Center, the cavern placed after it, Natsu's anger after leaving the cave, it all made sense.

"Hey-y Natsu…you mind steppin' in for me here?" Lucy pleaded with two puppy dog eyes. "This kid's trying to ruin Hau's day. I think he needs some help…"

"HA!" Natsu grinded his fists together as his eyes landed firmly on Gladion. "Say no more, Lucy! I'm ready to blow off steam after what I just pulled!"

"Thanks! You're the BEST!"

Lucy bolted with a swift cloud of air, and as Happy noticed the sparkly look in her eye, he instead ignored his own trainer's fight with Gladion and followed after Lucy. "Hey! Why you leaving Natsu alone like that, Lucy?"

The Blonde Trainer ignored her least favorite cat in the world as she made it past the peculiar cavern door. Immediately, the game flashed her a signal for the next area, and revealed this watery lagoon to be Brooklet Hill.

"Awe Yea!" Lucy cheered with herself. "We made it to the next Trial! Judging by Natsu's reaction. This must be a Water-Type. In that case I can use the _new Pokémon_ I found back in the ranch to help me with this one, and that will give me a lead on Natsu while I'm at it!" She marched forward with certain pride, but then came to stop at a lone wooden bridge that passed over a rocky pool of water. Standing on the bridge to block her path, though, was a small girl with short blue hair and an oriental fishing outfit.

She looked very calm to see a new visitor to the hill, and as such gave Lucy a calm introduction. "Hello. I'm Lana. I serve as the captain of Brooklet Hill. You look like an able-bodied Trainer. Could I ask for your help with something?"

 _"_ _Hehe…!"_ Lucy laughed maniacally inside her mind. _"She's trying to act like this isn't the trial. Oh I'll play along with her, in that case…"_ The crazed blonde shrugged and nodded. "I suppose so. What sort of help do you need?"

Regardless of Lucy's choice, Lana carried on. "Then follow me. This way, please."

After following her new guide through the series of bridges and pools that made the upper section of Brooklet Hill, she stopped by the edge of a small but sizable lake, and pointed out to a bubbly center. "See? Do you see that there?"

"Huh?" Lucy put a hand over her eyes, and tried to collect a better view. "I-I don't see anything, but then again the sun is almost down, now."

Lana lowered her hand. "Look at that vigorous splashing! I wouldn't be surprised to find a fearsome Pokémon is the one causing it all..." She then provided Lucy with a small smile. "So, brave trial-goer, I would like to ask you to investigate that splashing there and find out what exactly is causing it. I won't ask you to swim out there, of course. I have a lovely gift for you instead."

Lucy was now in her swimsuit and a hard, yellow helmet as she sat inside a Lapras saddle in the middle of the lake. The spray from the water, combined with the night time air left the skimpy Pokémon trainer shivering with discomfort. "Why do I have to come all the way out here investigate it. It's just going to be some Pokémon I could have tried to fight from the land. Ugh, what if it knocks the Lapras over? I'll be drenched for the rest of the trial if that happens!"

Lucy feared for the worst as several small fished swam past her mount, and then came up out of the bubbling water. She raised an eyebrow, and noticed the puny Pokémon was named _Wishiwashi_ , and it did not look worth it to waste her new Pokémon on such a meager enemy.

"Oh my... So it was Wishiwashi kicking up all that water? Even a little Wishiwashi can make such big waves..." Lana had watched Lucy and Capricorn devour the small fish moments ago from her comfortable spot on the shore. She nodded, and turned to lead the shivering Lucy further down the hill. "Oh me. What is that? I can hear wild splashing from over there... It sounds even larger than what we just saw. Is it a Pokémon? Is it a person? I suppose we had better go check."

"Mgh…" Lucy had pulled out a towel to cover up her bikini-clad body, but slowly trekked after Lana in frustration. "I bet I know what it is…and I hope it's stronger this time."

"Look!" Lana snapped back at her follower as she spotted a second set of bubbles. "There it is... Ah... I'm sorry. What was your name? ... ... ... Of course! _Lucy!_ It is a lovely name. Just lovely. Now look over there. Do you see that?"

"How do you…ah forget it." Lucy did not question the fame of her name anymore, and rolled her eyes. "Besides, I think I have an idea for what you want me to do…"

* * *

"Brooklet Hill..." Lana had taken all over this majestic peak of water and rock in search of mysterious bubbly fish. Lucy was nearly worn out, but as they approached the lower end of the site, the Captain turned back to her new friend. "Within it lies the Legendary Pokémon said to be the embodiment of the sea itself... the mighty _Kyogre_."

"Really?!" Lucy said with shock and awe. She knew that name from the time Natsu played through the Hoenn map, and sincerely asked Lana for the truth.

The Trial Captain smiled and shook her head. "Oh dear... You won't be tricked easily, Lucy. That's good, but we are near the sea. If that splashing sound is coming from the sea... then I wonder what is causing it." She then held out her hands, and as if on cue, a drizzle of light rain soared down from the heavens. "And now it is raining, as well. The rain will boost the power of any Water-type moves by half again... Could those splashes be caused by some Pokémon whose moves are now growing ever stronger in the falling rain?"

"I'm starting to have flash backs of Juvia when she was back in _Phantom Lord_ …and when she first joined the guild…on second thought, every time I've ever talked with Juvia is coming back to me..."

Lana had no idea what Lucy was going on about, and giggled through her hand as she finally turned around. "Lucy... You've come all this way with me..." She then snapped, and showed the illuminated Totem Gate was past Lucy on the back end of their trail. "That's right. Didn't you notice? You passed through the Captain's gate by my side. Which means that you will undergo my trial!"

"WHAT!?" Lucy leapt off the ground. "No wonder Natsu lost! You're showing no mercy so far, Lana!"

Lana nodded. "To clear my trial, you must defeat the great Totem Pokémon known as the lord of the ocean!" She then pointed back out to the largest lake so far, as it sat along the inland coast of the sea. "That spray of water you can see there! That is where you will probably find the totem. And perhaps those _Wishiwashi_ you battled against will also want their revenge... Defeat whatever comes at you and prove your strength to me! And remember that you cannot catch any Pokémon here unless you complete my trial. So let the trial begin!"

"Fine by me!" Lucy threw off her towel, and confidently jumped onto her Lapras, and swam out to meet the bubbling fish. "I beat those tiny little fish already. I can do it again even if they're all togeth…!"

 _"_ _LUUUCY!"_

The blonde trainer stopped for just a brief moment, and turned to find Happy the Pokédex flying like a maniac towards her. "YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL, LUCY!"

"HAPPY!?" Lucy almost fell off her Lapras. "What do you mean? I already know that the Totem's a Wishiwashi! Unless you're trying to trick me and eat the thing, then shut up and…!"

Happy finally made it over to his friend just as she made it to the bubbles. "No listen! You can't rush into the fight, Lucy! It's a Wishiwashi, all right, but it's totally different than before!"

"Different?" Lucy felt a chill take her spine as more wind rolled in from the sea. "Different _how_ …?"

Suddenly, the ocean shook, the black sky filled with clouds overhead, and a large beast from the sea roared out of the water, and spread a large wave over a vast surface of the lake. Lucy and the small cat, Happy trembled with shock and fear, and just then the digital dex yelled again. "It's not just one Wishiwashi! It's like 10,000 of 'em!"

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY!?" She never counted on the Pokémon's new _Schooling_ ability to be an issue, but as it stood charged, the Wishiwashi would have all its stats boosted until its health ran below 25%. In addition, its Totem aura flared to life as the battle began, and its Defense rose.

Despite any new concern, Lucy decided now was the best time to reveal the newest addition to her zodiac team. The Paniola Ranch was home to several domestic Pokémon, but this non-Alolan Pokémon magically found itself spawned in to meet her former master, and join her side.

" _Aries!_ I Choose You!" Lucy tossed out a Pokémon Ball to reveal a fluffy pink and white sheep Pokémon, known at this stage as Flaffy. It also had a special green bulb at the end of its tail, and a peculiar shine to it as it came onto the field. Aries had evolved from a Mareep very quickly as Lucy was out looking for Natsu and Hau on Route 5, and just as its levels were higher, the timid Pokémon spoke out.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lucy. I wanted to fight for you earlier!" Aries stood timidly in the shallow water as her eyes met the large fish Pokémon before. Her. "But…I'M SO SORRY BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN DO THIS!"

"Aries, calm Down!" Lucy raised her hands. "You're totally fine! Just stay calm, and give him everything you've got."

"Yea!" Happy cheered them on. "You can do it, Miss Fluffy!"

Aries heard both of their supportive cheers loud and clear, and as a result turned to deliver a signature move. "All…Well all right. I'll certainly see if my wool can leave a static shock!" Aries shot out a small ray of electric energy, and trapped the Wishiwashi Totem Pokémon in a veil of energy. It quickly became paralyzed, and then made room for its next turn. The fish shot out a dark blue ball of water right form its mouth, and drenched Aries with a new coating of sticky water.

"Wishiwashi used _Soak!_ Aries' type changed!"

"Oh No!" Lucy yelled. "Is she a Water-type now!?"

"I think so!" Happy tried researching the move through his own internal system. "Natsu didn't make it that far. He shot out a few _Water Gun_ attacks, and one-shot all his Pokémon."

"Well duh!" Lucy yelled back. "The idiot only used Fire-types…which is why…" She pointed forward, and kept up with her command. "I NEED TO BEAT THIS TOTEM POKEMON! ARIES, USE _THUNDERBOLT!"_

Aries gave him a quick nod, and summoned all the electric energy she could through her dripping body. A large bolt of lightning left her body, and sent a shock wave right through Wishiwahsi's school, which sent its health down to the mid-yellow range.

Then, the Totem Water-type called for its help, and helped quickly arrived in the form of another fish— _Alomomola._

"Grr…" Lucy glared at the opponent. "That _Thunderbolt_ would have fainted it if she was still a water-type." She stood by, but then saw the new Alomomola use a quick _Heal Pulse_ to send Wishiwashi's health back into the healthy green.

This gave Wishiwashi his own turn, and as the Totem charged up, he roared with an easy Growl to lower Aries' attack. Aries tried bouncing back, but panicked and used a different move on the wrong Pokémon. A _Volt Switch_ was sent to hit Alomomola, and brought it into the low red, and sent Aries back into the party. Lucy thought about it for a moment, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, that Wishiwashi may try to spam _Soak_ again depending on what I use. If I'm lucky…it might let me get away with something, here." She smiled, and tossed out a shining red Pokémon ball. " _LOKE!_ I CHOOSE YOU!"

Loke, the Zodiac King landed on the field as the Fire/Normal Litleo. He was quickly confident with his chances, until he noticed both the environment of pure water, and the opponent's field of pure Water-types. "Um, Lucy? Y-You sure I was the right choice here?"

Lucy nodded, and slammed down on the signal centering her Z-Crystal arm band. "Oh yea! I'm more than sure!" She followed the moves showed to them by Kukui and Ilima, and as her arms finished off in a Z-Motion, Loke's true power awoke.

Suddenly, a ray of orange flare shot out from Loke's body. His aura charged up, and the light behind him sent the little lion cub hurling toward the enemy at lightning speed. The Wishiwashi was far too slow to dodge the Normal Z-Move, and as such gave Loke the perfect opportunity to strike as much damage that he could.

"OKAY LUCY! _REGULUS IMPACT!_ "

Loke slammed into the large school of fish, and seemed to drill enough power to break it all apart, but its health stayed at low red, which kept the Pokémon alive and kicking. That being said, a flash of light surrounded the Wishiwashi school, and suddenly hundreds of scales from its large body swam and washed away back into the lake This left a single aura-lit Wishiwashi alone for the battle with Alomomola. Both Pokémon were in the red, and this gave Loke enough time to turn toward his partner with a cocky expression.

"Well, how impressive was that, Lucy?" Loke said with a grin. "Our love just triumphed over a second Alolan Trial."

"LOKE, TURN AROUND!" Lucy pointed out a large Water-Gun current currently sailing toward her still Fire-type Loke, and after Wishiwashi failed to hit it with a wasteful Soak or Growl, the remaining Alomomola had a hit left to faint Loke in one single hit.

"Agh…" The successful lion came up too short to remain on the field, and slowly raised his paw in the low air. "That was…my fault."

"Ugh, no…" Lucy face-palmed. "It was mine." She collected a fainted Loke, and decided it was time to end the battle now. "Well, I used my first Z-Move, so let's go ahead and end this battle! CAPRICORN!"

The Sea Goat of the Zodiac flew out of his Poké Ball and landed in the low washing tide. His eyes were ready for battle, and just by sizing up the situation on his decent, Capricorn called out his own move. "I'll end this with a quick _Razor Leaf_ , my Lady!"

Razor leaf hit both targets, and was very powerful with an added critical-hit bonus. The two remaining water-types were already in the low red, so this super effective move left no challenge for Capricorn or his master Lucy remaining. The battle came to a quick end, and the young goat turned with delight. "Well, Laaady Lucy. I believe we won your second trial."

"Yea ya did!" She jumped up in the air. "Nice going, Capricorn! Make sure Loke knows I'm sorry too, if you get the chance!" She collected Capricorn, and Happy danced about the space surrounding her head as Lucy sailed her Lapras back to the water's edge and onto dry land for Lana's conclusion.

The Trial Captain of Water nodded with delight, but also stood with slight confusion in her eyes. "I...I must say that I find myself at an impasse here. All of the Wishiwashi that I so diligently trained up were defeated, and that is very frustrating... but of course I cannot let your completion of my trial go uncelebrated. You were amazing, Lucy. Truly impressive. Please take this."

Lana handed over a shining blue Z-Crystal of Alola, and just like the Normalium Z, Lucy held this stone high in the air, and let the shine of the now-clear moon and stars bounce off its surface. "Oh yea! That's 2 Z-Crystals to Natsu's 1!"

Lana gave her a slow nod. "You do know what this is, don't you? Watch. This is how you use _Waterium Z_." She crossed her arms out in front of her body, then brought them over to one side and made two wave motions in a parallel move. She repeated this again on the other side of her torso, and then froze to end her Z-Stance of water.

Lana then smiled brightly and continued. "And that's not all I can offer you. Here. This is a Lana original. One of my own handmade fishing rods. This is how you use my fishing rod: When you want to fish for Pokémon, look for piles of rocks in the water. Fish like to hide in the shadows there. When you see your bob dip under the water, you have a bite. But you won't for long. The Pokémon will struggle to get away, so press the trigger switch as soon as you see the "!" mark. If you want to catch any of the Pokémon you fish up for your team, I recommend Dive Balls."

She then turned out toward the night-time sea and looked on with a pale expression. "By

the way... Did you know I once reeled in a _red_ Gyarados?"

"They make those?" Lucy scratched her head, but then noticed Lana cracking a smile as she shut her eyes.

"Well, what do you think?" Lana gave her a final bow, and turned for the gate. "You did a fine job today. Shall I see you back to the Pokémon Center on Route 5?"

Lucy went to say "yes", but just then she and Happy both heard something loud and rambunctious storming down the water hillside. Lana turned to see who it was, and just then a very angry and determined Natsu charged through the trial gate with a readied Poké Ball in hand.

"ALL RIGHT, _FISH-WENDY!_ YOU'RE GIVING ME THAT Z-CRYSTAL BEFORE I TEAR THIS WHOLE HILLSIDE DOWN!"

"NATSU! WHAT THE HELL!" Lucy stood in front of the trial captain, even though the small Lana showed no signs of fear.

"Hmm…" Lana scratched her chin. "Who is this _Wendy_ you speak of…? You know, I probably shouldn't ask. Natsu, if you wish to re-challenge my Wishiwashi Totem, I ask that you repeat the final stage, and swim out to the floating spot in the lake."

"Fine by me!" Natsu had no problem riding the Lapras out, because he tried to treat all the Pokémon on his own Ride Pager as friends and allies instead of quick vehicles. As such, he stormed past Lucy, and grabbed his floating Pokédex. "Come on, Happy! You're helpin' me though this one!"

"Well…" Lucy sat down in the sand, and wrapped her towel around her shivering body as the moon passed over head. "I should probably just set up a camp right now. If he didn't make any adjustments to his team, then there's no way Natsu can beat that monster."

* * *

 **So we met Gladion! Natsu lost, and Lucy won! But now Natsu wants a re-match...I wonder what happened in his first match?**

 **New chapter tomorrow! I hope everyone is enjoying it so far!**


	11. 10: A Fiery Redemption

**Author's Note: It's Friday! Yaaaaa! I hope everyone's ready for a Fire Dragon Roar? This is a Natsu chapter!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Ten - A Fiery Redemption

* * *

"AGH! Happy JR.! DON'T YOU DARE GO DOWN THAT EASILY!"

No, this was not Natsu's re-match with Wishiwashi, the Totem Pokémon. This was actually moments ago, during Natsu's first battle with the same Totem. Natsu's Growlithe had just fainted from a powerful Totem _Water Gun_ , and his poor Litten was not about to handle the raid from two enemy Pokémon any better.

Litten gave one lasting _Ember_ to the S.O.S. Wishiwashi, but then fell to a second Water-Typed attack as Natsu blacked out and failed to win his first island trial on Akala. He had no idea where Lucy ran off to, and he also lost Hau back on Route 5.

"AGH!" The angry Fire trainer stormed off his Lapras, and just as Lana stepped up to confront him, he shoved an angry hand in her face. "Not now, Wendy. I'm goin' to the PC."

"Huh?" Lana scratched her head. "That isn't my name…oh dear. He must be stressed after losing that battle. I hope he comes back with the right mind set next time…"

* * *

Now we flash forward to Natsu back on Route 5 with Hau and the mysterious Gladion. Lucy had just run off into the cavern for Brooklet Hill, and Happy the Pokédex was quickly following after her to convey his useful warning. This left the fire wizard alone with the other two boys as a new battle began to ensue.

"All right, pal! I don't know why Lucy left you here for me to battle, but anything she needs help with is my number 1 priority! GO _GROWLY!_ "

His much stronger Growly came onto the field with full health now, and prepared for Gladion to summon his partner.

Gladion raised his hand to block part of his face, and then scowled. "What a weak-minded trainer. Go _Zubat!_ " A tiny and annoying bat that Natsu was all-too familiar with in the last game entered the field, and began flapping its wings to a very annoying beat.

"Of all the Pokémon you could choose from, pal, you just had to choose that little flying monster!?" Natsu felt no sympathy for the stranger as he pointed forward. "Growly, use _Flame Wheel!_ "

The Growlithe barked back, and charged up its body into a roaring cone of fire. It then launched itself at the tiny Zubat, and fainted it with one easy hit to the chest.

Zubat settled down to the ground, and left Gladion rolling his eyes. "All Pokémon are useless…except for you. GO _NULL!_ "

Natsu readied himself for anything to happen as the most bizarre Pokémon he had ever seen took the field before him. The unusual Pokémon called _Type: Null_ stood in front of his Growlithe. It appeared to be a quadruped, _chimeric_ Pokémon with traits from a variety of creatures. Its head was also noticeably enclosed in a brown helmet with green markings, designed to suppress its power and stable its levels.

"That's a pretty gnarly lookin' Pokémon!" Natsu spat back with anger. He then prepared his own attack. "Let's see how he handles fire! Growly, use _Flame Wheel_ again!"

Growly stepped back, and charged up for a second _Flame Wheel_ attack, but as the fire landed, the Type: Null was left with almost no scratch marks covering its body. Natsu looked concerned, and then discovered he had every right to be as Type: Null attacked.

"Type: Null use _Tackle!_ " The peculiar Pokémon dished out its slightly weak choice of attack, but even after that, the Growly felt a good amount of pain after feeling its health sink down into the yellow. Natsu threw down his hands, and pressed a button on his Z-Ring for good measure to follow.

"OKAY THAT'S IT! TIME FOR THE _OVERKILL!"_ Natsu finished his Z-dance, and watched Growlith rampage with its mighty Breakneck Blitz normal move. He would have preferred using the Fighting Z-Move, but Growly nor Litten are compatible at this time. Either way, the full force brawl was just enough to barely send the Type: Null Pokémon into a small wobble, shortly letting it crash to the ground as a result.

Gladion held out his hands with a face full of rage and anger, and then screamed toward the ground. "How annoying!" He crossed his arms. "Hmph... It's not like me to slip up like that. I've got to keep fighting stronger opponents. Looks like I'm still not ready...you're that girl's friend, right? Natsu?"

"Hehe!" Natsu gave him his signature cheeky grin. "Of course! We're best pals, me and Lucy!"

"Hmph." Gladion stood up and looked right at Natsu. "Not very cautious. Even some Pokémon have a better sense of self-preservation than you apparently do." He quickly realized both Natsu and Lucy came in to save Hau, but the boy from Iki Town simply stood off to the side with a smiling expression. "That kid there. His Pokémon aren't weak."

"Hau?" Natsu looked back. "Well no duh! His grandpa's a freakin' Kahuna! He's gotta be pretty strong with those genes in his family."

Gladion closed his eyes, and silently agreed with the pink-haired hero. "And sure, it's fine to enjoy battling..." This was now the time Gladion returned to being his angry self. "But this brat... he's just using that as an excuse not to try hard because he can't beat the kahuna. Because he can't beat Hala when he's serious!"

"Hold it right there." Natsu stepped forward, and got roughly one inch away from a now startled Gladion's face. He spoke clearly. "Being serious all the time is no way of livin' your life. Sure following along is the right thing to do now an then, but a wise guy told me once…that if we all worry about following rules no matter what, than our skills won't ever improve." He then turned to give Hau one last smile.

"And if that's Hau's way of getting' though life, then I'm right behind him!"

"Tsk…" Gladion was about to say something smart back at Natsu, but he heard a few set of footsteps coming his way, and decided now would be a good time to leave. "Just keep living like idiots then…Natsu, Hau."

Gladion left for the other side of Route 5, and Natsu stopped for a brief moment as Hau made his way over.

"Thanks, Natsu. And Growly, too. It was a good battle!" He then thought about what Gladion said and cracked a second laugh. "Phew... Looks like I've gotta train up my team if I'm gonna take on the trial at Brooklet Hill next! Here, Natsu, take these with you. We're gonna beat this island challenge!"

Hau delivered a few extra training supplies to his good friend, and then turned for the other side of the route as well, but just before he left, Hau decided to leave with one more parting gift. "Oh, and if I heard ya right, you're not a big fan of water? Try lookin' into Grass or Electric-types!"

"HA!" Natsu howled. "No way! It's only fire for me, man! I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer, after all!"

"Fire _Dragon_?!" Hau yelled back. "Well why didn't you say so! Try finding a strong Dragon-type to even your team out, then! Nigel _did_ implement that _GTS_ for a reason, ya know"

"What are you talkin' about…?" Natsu watched Hau wave goodbye and walk off, but also realized that his once blue Happy-dex was now Lucy's red Rotom-dex left behind from her departure.

"Zzzt." Rotom sighed. "It lookzz like Luzzzy ran off without me!"

"Hold on, buddy!" Nastu put his arm around the tiny Rotom and walked him inside the nearby Pokémon Center. "Let's go inside and get something to eat. Then maybe you can tell me about this GTS thingy Nigel created for us?"

* * *

Now we return to find Natsu ready for action back at Brooklet Hill. He quickly rampaged past Lana and Lucy, and grabbed Happy as he made way for the open Lapras sitting in the lake.

"Hold on buddy, that's my Lapras!" Lucy stood up and yelled at her friend to leave her Pokémon alone.

Natsu did not care whose Pokémon it was. "Doesn't bother me. It'll work just fine."

Lucy stopped running, and slightly covered her mouth. "Wow, he's really serious right now…I hope he's okay." She then took a second look at the corner of his eyes. They looked very determined and ready for action. Lucy had no choice but to smile, and give her close friend a thumbs-up.

"Go win it, Natsu. I'll be waiting right here for you!"

Natsu stopped walking, and widened his eyes as he was nearly caught off guard. Then, just before he left for the patch of water, he gave her a confident grin.

"Thanks in advance, Lucy."

Natsu had just made it out to greet the monster fish for the second try, and just then the waves around his Lapras grew larger and larger. The Titan of the sea emerged from the lake, and the Totem Pokémon, Wishiwashi lit up with a flare of an aura boost and prepared itself for a battle.

Natsu was not fooling around this time, and as such made sure to have everything he could calculated. "Go Littlen!"

The fire cat landed ready to attack, and right away Lucy sighed. "I knew he wouldn't have a different team He leads with a fire Pokémon vs a Water Totem? Consider this battle…"

"HAPPY JR. USE _WILL-O-WISP!_ "

The small cat nodded in support of its courageous master, and shot out a tiny but potent blue flame of fire. The Totem shook it off, but quickly felt a blaze of heat and pain course through its body.

"Happy Jr. used _Will-O-Wisp!_ Foe Wishiwashi has been severely burned!"

"NATSU!" Lucy jumped up with a voice of cheer. "You knew to burn the Totem? That's amazing!"

"Duh!" He yelled back with a laugh. "That weird ability of his will go away if I can get him down past 25% health." He then turned to give her a faraway wink.

"Plus, ya know, I am the Champion in one of these games."

"Yea yea…" She raised an eyebrow, and kept both hands on her hips as the battle continued. Meanwhile Happy stayed behind Natsu's ear to give him some clues.

"Alright, buddy! He's got a 50/50 shot of either summoning another Wishiwashi or another weird fishy-wishy to the field. They both have this move that can power up the big guy, though! So watch your back!"

"Ha!" Natsu laughed. "Sounds good to me! I'M ALL FIRED UP JUST WAITIN' FOR HIM!"

The Wishiwashi made no hesitation to send out a powerful Water Gun to one-shot Litten again, and quickly sent it to fall and faint. Natsu collected his monster, and put it back on his belt.

"I didn't trust anyone else by you to deal the damage, Happy J…all right time for _Igneel 2.0!_ "

Natsu tossed out an Ultra Ball, one that he earned from the aforementioned _Global Trade System_ (or GTS for short) and allowed it to land in the water to reveal his new and improved team member. It was a tiny but fierce little blue and grey dragon-type, with little ridges on its head, and fire in its eyes.

Natsu's new Bagon, or "Igneel 2.0" as he dubbed it, awaited his command for attack. "Okay lil' buddy! Show me your best FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

Bagon launched out a semi-powerful cloud of purple and black fire right for the new S.O.S. Pokémon that recently emerged. It was another Alomomola, and as the damage seemed to take it into the yellow, a secondary effect left an imprint as well.

"Igneel 2.0 used _Dragon Breath!_ Foe Alomomola is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!" The small pink fish actually went to make an attempt at a clutch _Helping Hand_ , but failed to do so due to its newly placed handicap.

"Foe Alomomola is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!"

"HAHA!" Natsu raised a victorious fist as he now had both Pokémon right where he wanted them. The Totem Wishiwashi used _Growl_ on Bagon due to its own insecurity and uncertainty, and this now left Natsu with his turn.

"Wow…" Lucy watched from the sideline with both eyes widely open. "He looks totally different from before…now that I think about it, he didn't even battle like this in _Delta Emerald_." Natsu was showing Lucy that he was starting to become a different trainer. Now only did he stray away from the single type Fire team, but he also added some much-needed strategy to a very power set of Pokémon. Either he, or Happy was probably behind it, but either way the Fire Dragon Slayer was sitting in the captain's seat for this battle of a life time.

"Okay Igneel 2.0! It's time to use your secret move. Hit him up with a _HIDDEN POWER_ RIGHT NOW!"

Bagon raged up a cloud of mystical power from underneath his feet, and then let his body charge up with electric power. It turns out, that luckily for this clueless trainer, Bagon's Hidden Power typing was actually _Electric_. The move slammed against Wishiwashi, and sent him into the lower yellow, but still in a very sturdy position. This gave him time to send out his own Water Gun attack, which crushed the fairly weak defense Pokémon and fainted him in one hit.

Natsu stood at the ready, but then noticed the Totem's burn caused severe damage, and sent it passed the golden 25% threshold he was waiting for. The large school of fish abandoned the lower health main Wishiwashi, and left it all alone with an equally weak Alomomola at its side.

"OH YEA! GO GROWLY!" Growlithe jumped out on the field in place of his fallen new comrade, and prepped for his master's orders. "Use _Ember_ on Wishiwashi!"

Growly obliged, delivered the damage, and experienced a harsh Water Gun right back in his face. Luckily, since this was the very weak version of the fish Pokémon, Growly's health was still left in the upper red.

Alomomola was slower, and as such sent out the Helping Hand it was spamming for the entire battle. Natsu now readied himself for the next attack, but grinned with tenacity. "OKAY USE _REVERSAL!_ "

Reversal was a move Growlithe learned at 19. It had an unusual quirk that powered itself up based on the user's Hp stat, and the lower that number was, the better.

Luckily, Growly had very low health in the red, and suddenly shot out an all-out pummeling move that destroyed the tiny Totem Pokémon in one final hit.

Alomomola tried to counter with a quick Water Gun, but that pesky paralysis kept it frozen in the water once again. Finally, with all the power in his hand. Natsu slammed on his Z-Ring's energy.

"TIME FOR A Z-MOVE! _BREAKNECK BLITZ!_ "

Growlithe lowered its head, smiled like his master, and charged forward in a flurry of dust and water. The pink Alomomola did not know what hit it until its yellow health bar sank into the bottoming out range of 0, fainting it just like its partner, and ending the battle once and for all.

"YEH-EAH!" Natsu nearly jumped out of his chair on the back of the Lapras. "That'll show you lousy Water-types to never play with fire ever again!"

"AWWW YEAAA!" Happy spun around and danced about Natsu's head the moment the move landed, and the match came to an end.

"Natsu! You did it!" Lucy ran out into the shallows to greet her returning friend, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he jumped off his riding Pokémon to return the favor. They briefly celebrated before Lana came over to join in for their rejoicing moment.

"Outstanding…never have I seen a Fire-centered trainer defeat my trial in 2 tries. You both are superior Pokémon Trainers, and I wish you luck with your future endeavors."

Lucy nodded, and Natsu smiled as he threw away Lana's water Z-Crystal that was supposed to be his reward for winning the trial. Lucy smacked him on the head, and made him put it back in his bag before Lana was able to cease her laughter and carried on. "Next is Kiawe's trial. It will take place at Wela Volcano Park."

"Volcano?" Natsu smirked. "That means he's a fire type. Time ta show this Kiawe guy who the real Fire Dragon Slayer is on this island!"

"Natsu…" Lucy sighed with a further embarrassed expression. "I'm sure Kiawe can't even use regular magic…anyway, I hope we can pass through those weird tree Pokémon back on that ranch."

Lana nodded, but then snapped her fingers in surprise. "Oh. And that reminds me... Did you see those _Sudowoodo_ by Paniola Ranch? They were causing some trouble for people, so I gave them a little dose of Z-Power using my Waterium Z. Just a little lesson for them. I wonder how they will react now that they see that you have Waterium Z, too? Heh."

"Yea!" Natsu walked past Lana, and led Lucy outside the gate as they made their way for their next challenge. "I hope the rest of Alola knows we got it to. We're takin' this island by storm, and finding Nigel before he's gone for good!"

* * *

 **Well I'll be, Natsu actually used...strategy? He beat the Water Totem, but already this game looks a little harder than anything either wizard has seen in the past. I hope they're ready for the rest of their Island Challenge!**

 **No chapter tomorrow, no chapter Sunday, yes chapter Monday! I'll see you all back here after the weekend!**


	12. 11: Let's Have a Battle Royal!

**Author's Note: I apologize for not uploading any sooner! I was out of town due to the 3-day Labor Day weekend, and I had no time near a computer.**

 **Anyway, here's a late-day update. Enjoy!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven - Let's Have a Battle Royal!

* * *

Natsu and Lucy were heading down through the southern exit of Paniola Ranch just moments after the pink-haired trainer defeated the Water-specific trial of Alolan with a basic Fire-type team. He and Lucy were celebrating their victories the whole walk down, and both shared some of their favorite moments before moving on to the next in-game location.

"That was really amazing, Natsu! I mean it this time!" Lucy chimed off as the two friends made their way through the island route. "I just remember seeing Lana's face once you threw out your Dragon Pokémon. It was so priceless!"

"Yea?" Natsu cheered back. "Thank Hau for that guy! He told me that Nigel had this trading system implemented into the game, and I found a fresh Bagon guy just sitting there waiting to be taken!"

"You can get Pokémon like that?" Lucy curiously asked. "Did you use a PC, or…?"

"Sort of." Natsu explained. "It was this little thing we have access to called the _Festival Plaza?_ I dunno, the whole thing was pretty cheesy. I think Nigel went overboard on that bit, but the trading thingy worked wonders for me!"

Lucy nodded. "Well, you can be the one to tell him that once we find him. I'm sure he'll be dying to hear constructive criticism after being swallowed by his own game."

They both stopped walking, and felt the finality of Lucy's words. She then lowered her head. "Y-You still think we can find him, right?"

Natsu nodded. "Yea, I can smell him every time we hit the road. I'm not sure how to explain in…but he's in here. Somewhere."

"You there, you two Trainers. Can you come to my aid?"

They both tried raising each other's spirits from there, but just then they heard a voice coming from a turn off down at the middle end of the route. Natsu ran first, and Lucy tailed behind him as the two trapped Fairies discovered a short girl with oddly shaped black hair and simple clothing standing up to the same annoying Team Skull goons from before. She appeared to be protecting a round purple Pokémon, which looked to be a wild _Drifloon_ shaking with fear.

The first grunt, like usual, performed his dance and gave the new girl a sinister grin. "Yo, yo, yo! Don't go turning your backside on us!"

The second went to continue as well, but then noticed Natsu and Lucy had joined the party. "And YOU! You're those numskull trainers from Melemele, yo!"

"Yo, for real?" The first grunt looked the two Trainers over and over, and then jumped back. "YEA! That blonde chick with her crazy pink-haired friend! You two are straight up monsters, yo!"

Lucy put her foot down, but the small girl stepped up first. "These scoundrels are Pokémon thieves. And you're on familiar terms with them?"

"OH YEA WE ARE! LET ME AT 'EM BEFORE I…!" Natsu ran forward with a face full of anger, but Lucy held him back and gave the girl a sly grin.

"Nope!" She said with a cute smile. "Never seen them in my life!"

"OUCH!" The two grunts rattled off, and the first sighed. "Dissed by the Blondie. That's lower than low…"

The girl from before noticed what Lucy did, and smirked "I am Hapu. Life in the big city sure is something else. Pokémon thieves roam about brazenly..."

"Yea, no kidding." Lucy agreed. "Do you need any help to deal with these guys? We'd be glad to help!"

The second grunt was still caught up by the thief comment made earlier. "We're not thieves, yo! It's a legitimate business!"

Grunt A agreed. "We got straight messed-up in Melemele… got exiled to Akala… but we ain't goin' out like that!"

Hapu nodded, and stepped back. "Hmm, I leave that one to you." She then looked over Lucy's rambunctious partner. "Mudsdale, shall we stomp these scoundrels? It'll be a mess to clean up afterward, but I am willing if you are. Unless you wanna let this fiery boy have a crack at them!"

"OH YEA!" Natsu stepped up. "Leave your wired horse guy out of this, lady! I'm all fired up now!"

Lucy nodded, and as Natsu threw out his fiery pet, Happy Jr., she tossed out her one and only starter herself.

"Go Aquarius!"

After a short and simple battle with two very easy criminals, Lucy and Natsu prevailed with their partner Pokémon. Aquarius never even made one comment about Lucy's appearance, and Natsu gave the two grunts a real beating with the fire from his team.

In fact, from the sound of things, the Team Skull bandits seemed to make this their last call before heading out for the road, but just before their departure, the two wannabe rappers left Natsu and Lucy with some sick beats.

 _"_ _Bone dry!"_

 _"_ _With all these bosses, we're gonna anger our bosses!_

 _"_ _These tears taste like salt, yo! It's all your fault, bro!"_

 _"_ _Time for us to break out, yo! Gotta tell y'all peace out, though!"_

Lucy and Natsu had nearly fallen over, and the small but clever Hapu covered her mouth to conceal a smirking expression. Meanwhile, the first Grunt stepped up for one last word, and left out his music notes this time to emphasize its seriousness.

"I'm not gonna keep telling you this, except when I keep telling you this! You better listen to what my homie says and drill it into that thick skull of yours! Seriously! You'd better not forget, numskull!"

"Psh!" Lucy laughed. "I'd get out of here before Natsu heals his Pokémon for a second fight."

The Team Skull members now noticed Natsu looking out for a nearby Poké Center to honor Lucy's threat, and just like that, they were out and gone.

Hapu nodded, and finally turned to the relieved Pokémon, Drifloon. "You'll be fine getting home?"

It gave her a short nod, and slowly drifted off north to join the other wild Pokémon in the tall grass. Hapu nodded again. "Glad to see that one will get home on her own."

She then turned to finally greet her new friends. "I've got you to thank for that. Give me your name, Trainers."

"Oh!" The blonde wizard almost forgot. "We never did introduce ourselves. My name's Lucy! And this is Nastu!"

"Yo!" Her fiery best friend chimed off. "Nice ta meet ya!"

Hapu gave them a new nod. "Natsu…Lucy, eh? Those are fine names. I like the way you both handled yourselves in battle. Mudsdale and I are always wandering all about Alola to try to achieve our goals, so perhaps we'll meet again someday. I am indebted to you

for your aid, after all."

"Hey, no problem!" Lucy kindly replied. "We enjoy helping other people out. It's the least we can do!"

Hapu agreed. She then gave them a bow, and turned for one last remark. "Ah yes. You might want to try your hand at a _Battle Royal_ or two, Natsu, Lucy. Mudsdale here thinks you'd both be well suited to it, given how strong you guys are."

The mysterious Hapu then hopped on top of her large, daunting horse Pokémon and road off for the south exit of Route 6. Natsu and Lucy gave her a wave goodbye, and the latter beamed with delight.

"Wow, she seemed really nice. Nigel made some really great characters in this game. It almost feels like they're real people!"

"Yea…" Natsu pondered for a deep though. "It's almost suspicious…ah who cares! I THINK SHE SAID _BATTLE ROYALE!_ "

As Natsu and Lucy healed up their Pokémon, the two partner trainers turned down the flashy evening Royal Avenue to come across a mighty large dome with a bright red roof and flashing lights scattered all around it.

Natsu mindlessly ran inside, without his blonde partner following him in. Lucy assumed she lost Natsu after leaving the PC, but figured out that arena had to be where he ran off to. "Ugh…why can't he just stay with me once in a while. We're already missing one friend as it is…I need to buy a leash or something."

She went to talk to herself more, but stopped to find a darkly dressed blonde boy standing alone in front of the arena. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and turned away from his loitering to enter the building.

"Hmph. Why do I do this..." Gladion sighed. "Every time something brings me down, I end up coming right back here again...Come on, Null. Let's go bury our sorrow in the crowd."

"That seems important…he almost sounds like he's heading into a guild hall." Lucy laughed to herself as she watched him enter the arena, and had no choice but to follow in after him in order to locate her missing best friend.

After entering the large and elaborate Battle Royal Dome, Lucy kept her eyes peeled for any people she might recognize. However, it did not take long for her eyes to follow up toward the red, blue, green, and yellow boxing glove emblem that symbolized the Battle Royal Dome. It appeared to be a busy night for the Alolan fight club, and just as she tried finding information to register her team, a loud vice roared from over the lobby balcony.

"Glad you could make it!"

Lucy jumped from her spot in line, and cringed as she saw a large, lucha libre wrestler walking towards her from upstairs. "UH! Who are you!?"

The wrestler howled with exaggerated laughter. "I'm here today, yeah, to spread the word, oh yeah, about Battle Royal! They call me...the Masked Royal! Woo!"

"Ergh…" Lucy's eye started twitching after hearing the man's specific choice of words, and then she noticed the body and physique of the mysterious Masked Royal appeared to look awfully familiar.

"Uhhhm…Professor Kukui?" She asked. "Is that you?"

He stood firmly in place, and yelled out his only response. "The Masked Royal! I'm here to teach you, oh yeah, about the battle format passed down in Alola for generations... _The Pokémon Battle Royal_. Woo!"

He then started shouting to himself to form a one-sided conversation. "But, Royal,

what's the Battle Royal?" You might ask."

"Nope…" Lucy cringed. "Definitely did not ask that."

Kukui…err I-I mean _The Masked Royal_ continued. "Four Trainers! Four Trainers, yeah, each pick three Pokémon, yeah, for one big Pokémon battle, oh yeah! When one Trainer's team can't battle anymore, yeah, the Battle Royal ends! Whichever Trainer has taken out the most Pokémon, yeah, and has the most Pokémon left will emerge the winner. Woo!"

"Oh I see." Lucy decided to follow along after all. "So it's a four-man free for all? That's actually kind of interesting! I wonder if Nigel thought about adding that after Natsu's battle in the last Elite 4?"

For anyone who cannot seem to remember, Lucy is referring to Natsu's three-way free-for-all battle with Steven and Wallace in the last edition to this game— _Delta Emerald._ Natsu had to perform a three-way double battle, and judging by the sound of this battle royal mechanic, it seems Nigel took some inspiration from that to create a new mini-game.

The Masked Royal liked her intrigue. "First, just give it a shot! Pick your Pokémon, and let's do this!"

"Dude! It's the Masked Royal! I wanna battle! I wanna battle!"

"Yea! Me too! Move over, Lucy!"

The blonde trainer turned backwards to find Natsu and Hau running down the other side of stairs. It seems the childish boys were spectating the last round of matches, and appeared to be waiting on her to enter the next one themselves.

The Masked Royal kept up his high energy, and pointed at the gawking Gladion standing in the background. "You there! Come join in the fun!"

He then counted up the four trainers, and smiled with delight. "And now we have our foursome. Woo!"

"Umm…" Lucy sighed. "I'm not sure that came out right."

The silly Masked Royal character ignored her concern and laughed some more. "Discovery! New experiences! Adventure! It's all yours if you want it! It's time for a Pokémon Battle Royal! Ready... _fight!_ "

"OH YEA! LET'S GO HAPPY!" Natsu ran in, and released his blue Pokédex to follow in after him.

Hau ran after that, but Gladion and Lucy stood back with angry expression plastered to their faces.

"Ugh…" Gladion rolled his eyes, and slowly walked through the door. Lucy glared at him the whole way, but managed to follow in closely behind him as the doors shut, and the Battle Royal began.

Four trainers, four entries, only one can win. This…a Battle Royal!

"GO _HAPPY JR.!_ "

" _DARTRIX!_ YOU GOT THIS!"

" _Null_ …don't let me down."

"Ugh…but I…FINE! Go _Aquarius!_ "

All four trainers released their Pokémon, and as the four entries landed on the field, the expected Fire trainer made the first move.

"Okay Happy Jr.! LIGHT THE MERMAID ON FIRE!"

"WHAT!?" Lucy yelled out. "WHY ME!?"

She had no time to look around and admire the large crowd, excessive seating, and massive Pokémon-shaped doors that led out to the fighting square, but either way Lucy stayed calm and collected even with her partner attacking her flank. "Okay Aquarius, he's using fire-types. You can beat him easily if you just…!"

"Tsk…" Aquarius leaped up, smacked Lucy firmly in the face, and rolled out to let her take the ball of fire originally aimed at her.

"NO FAIR!" Natsu yelled out. "Whoever's reffin' this thing I swear I was aimin' for the Pokémon!"

"Grr…" Lucy wiped the soot off her face and snapped back. "I'LL AIM FOR YOUR HEAD NEXT TIME I HAVE THE CHANCE! AND YOU!"

She looked down with fiery eyes at her watery zodiac spirit, but the serious glare coming from Aquarius made Lucy whimper back into a state of self-defense.

"Agh…um…just take Natsu out, please."

"Hmph…if you say it like that, I might as well do it." Aquarius nodded, and sent out a column of spiraling water right for the small Happy Jr. The tiny black and red cat tried dodging the fierce _Water Gun_ , but took most of the hit and found its health landing in the red.

Hau smirked, and then pointed out for Aquarius. "Oka Dartrix! We have the advantage against Lucy! Use your Leafage!"

The pampered bird Pokémon nodded, and sent out three colorful green balls of energy, and smashed them into Aquarius's face to deal the exact amount of damage that she dealt to Happy Jr.

Lucy yelled again. "What the heck was that for? I'm taking out Natsu, here!"

"Hehe, sorry, Lucy!" Hau yelled back. "It's a free-for-all!"

"HEY YOU TWO!" Natsu snapped out. "NO TEAMIN' UP IN A BATTLE ROYAL! Didn't you ear Kooki's rules on the way in!?" He then gestured fiercely toward the exposed Dartrix. "Alright Happy Jr! Use that Ember again and send that bird back to his ball!"

The little cat nodded obediently again, and shot out a well-timed Ember to hit Dartix in the face, which left it also looming in red health, and near exposed to fainting. The room suddenly grew tense between the three close trainers, until the fourth rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hmph. Type: Null, use a _Bulldoze_ and be done with them."

The calm yet obedient Normal Pokémon nodded, and sent a large shock wave out through the battle. The three remaining trainers all yelled out for fear of a loss, and were each equally greeted by the same failing fate. The Masked Royal blew the final whistle, and awarded everyone their points.

"Aaand we finally have a winner! That was really entertaining, yea, but I'm gonna have to give the big W to Gladion! Woo!"

Hau clapped for the winner, but Natsu and Lucy both kept their arms crossed and shot daggers at each other with their fiery eyes. All the Pokémon were collected from the arena following the battle, and once the prizes were awarded, the Masked Royal led all the contestants out to the lobby.

"So what do you think?" The Masked Royal asked. "It's easy to have a fun time with Battle Royal. Woo! You even have a shot at beating real tough opponents this way, yeah?"

"You were on fire during that battle. I hope you bring that fire with you and burn up my trial."

No one could answer the cosplaying professor as a new voice spoke from above the lobby. Everyone in the group looked up, but Natsu off all people raised an eyebrow with certain intrigue.

The Masked Royal played along. "Who is this mysterious guy?"

Lucy added on. "I dunno…why does nobody want to wear a shirt today? These are just questions I have that will never be answered…"

The dark-skinned boy with fire red hair and tribal pants gave them all a satisfied grin as he nodded. "The name's Kiawe, the Fire captain. You can get to Wela Volcano Park from Route 7. I'll be waiting on the peak. If you plan to see your island challenge through to the end, climb to the top with your strongest team!"

"Oh really?" Natsu could smell the ash and cinder on Kiawe's body to know what trial he was a captain of. He strode forward and got right in the new comer's face. "So, you're the fire-user around here? I bet your team is nothin' compared to mine!"

"Natsu!" Lucy pulled him away. "Manners!"

Kiawe grinned, and closed his eyes before turning for the door. "Natsu Dragneel…I look forward to meeting you atop Mount Wela most of all. Until then…"

The Fire captain left the arena, and right then Lucy felt a chill roll down her spine. "W-wait, how did he know your name?"

"Who cares!" Natsu pounded his fists together. "He's a chump! I'll make sure he keeps rememberin' my name once I kick his butt in that trial!"

"Ugh…!" She face-palmed right in the middle of the lobby. "You haven't even healed your team yet, and you're already looking for another battle."

The Masked Royal caught on to their discussion, and joined the conversation yet again. "So! Natsu, Lucy, Hau. How are your trials going? I hope you and your Pokémon are working hard and havin' a blast. Woo!"

"But, Mr. Masked Royal..." Hau inquired. "How'd you even know that we're doing our trials right now? Oh! I get it! Because of our amulets, huh? Well, I'm having a blast!"

Hau then turned to face the outlier trainer, Gladion. "But why are you here? Why would you even wanna do a Battle Royal?"

Gladion felt all their eyes looking at them, but he only noticed Lucy's sharp yet concerned look piercing right at him. He took a deep breath, and replied Hau.

"Because Null and I have to make it on our own. And I don't ever want to forget that."

And just like that, Gladion was the second person to make his leave.

"...Wow." Hau watched him leave. "You're just a ray of sunshine, eh? I think you'd have a lot more fun if you just let yourself have a good time with everybody else. You can do a lot more together, too!"

Gladion stopped walking, and took all that in before resuming his exit, and made his pass out the door.

Lucy nodded. "The strong silent type, I see…he's a weird kid all right."

Natsu agreed. "Yea, Mr Edge Lord can keep poutin' for all I care. He'll figure himself out eventually."

Hau chuckled. "Well, I don't know what his deal is, but I thought that battle was just plain fun! That's why I like doing Battle Royals. And my Pokémon seem to like them, too!"

Lucy had to agree, and even though the moments inside the dome made her cringe with pure anger, she had no choice to laugh about it all as she followed Natsu and Hau out of the Battle Dome and onto the Wela Volcano Park, seeking her next thrill of adventure for her third straight Island Trial.

* * *

 **Well that was a load of fun! Gladion won, and the others seemed to face a very odd form of defeat. Plus Natsu may have spotted a new rival...?**

 **New chapter tomorrow!**


	13. 12: Trial 3: Inferno Overdrive

**Author's Notes: Okay, another trial fight! Will we see some Fire v Fire today?!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve - Trial 3: Inferno Overdrive

* * *

Lucy was slowly trudging up the side of the steep volcano that sat at the north edge of Akala Island. This Wela Volcano Park was one of Alola's highest points, and made for an excellent place to establish the region's fire-specific trial.

However, as expected on the slopes of a volcano, our resident Celestial Wizard was absorbing a little too much of the heat for her own liking. She had already changed back into her swimsuit from the shores of Hau-oli city, and even that skimpy outfit would not be able to cool her down any on the way to their next destination.

"Ugh…Natsu…I'm roasting down here…can't we wait until nightfall to do the challenge?" Lucy tried blocking the sun overhead, because Natsu chose to spend the better half of the morning training his team, which made this the hottest part of the afternoon.

The Fire Dragon Slayer howled, on the other hand. He felt perfectly comfortable in this environment, and even boasted a faster step tan his blonde partner. "Geeze, Lucy! You shoulda spent the whole morning working out instead of training your Pokémon! Maybe then you'd be able to handle the hike up here!"

"I DON'T NEED THE LIFE ADVICE, NATSU!" She snapped at her best friend with all her remaining vocal energy, and even yelling that much caused Lucy to stumble in her next step. "Ugh…besides this is going to be the easiest trial we have. Fire Pokémon just aren't that strong compared to other types in this game."

"WHAT!?" Natsu stopped, and turned back round to look down on his harsh partner. "TAKE THAT BACK! Fire Pokémon are the best part about this world!"

"Um…" Lucy tried to reason with him. "Natsu, Fire Pokémon are weak. Don't get me wrong, they have some of the strongest special attackers in the game, but their defense…well I mean they're weak against three types, and only super effective against 4. Plus, a lot of Pokémon like Dragons resist them really well…and not to mention we're on an island, so water Pokémon can be found pretty easily."

"Ppsh!" Natsu turned back up the hill. "You don't know what you're talking about! I beat plenty of water Pokémon when I was that Charizard on your team, and I watched Erza beat Water-types when she played for me!" He then waved his hand back to mock her. "And it's not like I need your nerd talk with all the special attacks or whatever! I can do this all on my own with brute force. Like I always do!"

"Yea…sure thing." Lucy rolled her eyes, because unlike Natsu, she had picked up on the art of Pokémon training a very long time ago. Sure, Lucy did not seem to enjoy her time playing these video games, but to her the mechanic was easy. It was all rock-paper-scissors. That gave her even more of an opportunity to learn extra things like stats, and moves.

She went to argue more, but just as she looked ahead, she noticed Natsu passing the crest of the volcano, and that sight alone gave her just enough energy to sprint up the rest of the way, and reach the peak of the mountain. Unlike most volcanos, which carry a caldera after eruption, this one was leveled off flat, with a very large platform presumably used for fighting.

Then, both trainers noticed the center of the platform was being taken by the same boy, Kiawe, that they found in the Battle Royal Dome. Here he was being joined by three ghastly dancing tribal Pokémon, and once he heard the footsteps of new visitors, Kiawe turned around.

"I am Kiawe. My Marowak and I are students of the ancient dances that have been passed down in Alola for generations."

"Oh, like Z-Move dances? That's amazing!" Lucy gave Kiawe a cheery smile, but she turned to find her partner Natsu glaring at him the entire time.

The captain continued. "The trial of Kiawe... You will find that it is a bit different than the trials you have faced to this point, but of course, you will attempt it, right?"

"Of course!" Lucy cheered out.

"OH YEA WE WILL! Natsu echoed. "I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!"

Kiawe liked their energy, and nodded with support. "My trial will test your powers of observation! There will be a dance...and then another. Your task will be to find the difference between the two. Begin!"

"WHAAAA-?"

Lucy and Natsu both fell to the floor. They expected something more like jumping through large fiery hoops, or dodging plumes of lava spewing out of the volcano, but never expected to become dance judges for their third trial.

Kiawe stepped aside, and showed off his three Poké assistants. "Watch carefully and memorize this dance." He let them observe, and once the trial began, the three Marowak spun around in a musical frenzy, and just then eccentric tribal music began playing as well, which left Natsu and Lucy even more confused than before.

They stopped, danced again, and stopped in a very similar pose. Kiawe then turned to his trial-goers. "What was different from the previous dance?"

Natsu's eyes were pale white with no emotion left in his face, he appeared to be that confused. Meanwhile Lucy felt more and more nervous sweat rolling down her forehead. "I…I don't know! C-can you show us again!?"

Kiawe nodded. "But you only get 1 redo every time." Both of the dances played again, and Kiawe left his contestants to answer. "What was different?"

Natsu felt a random answer surging through his brain. "OOOOO! The left one!"

Lucy put her foot down. "NO! Not my answer! It was the middle one!"

Kiawe blinked at both of them with a face of no emotion, and then turned to Natsu. "Astounding! It is astounding how wrong you are! Come, Marowak!"

"WHAT!" Natsu yelled out as the Marowak he chose stepped up to attack, and just then he threw out his own Pokémon in response. "Agh fine! GO GROWLY!"

As Natsu struggled with a single Marowak, Kiawe turned to Lucy, and grinned. "You on the other hand…B-but how?! That was truly spectacular! And to add to the spectacle..."

Lucy expected to fight a second Pokémon on her own, but instead Kiawe kept up his smile, and watched as the Fire Dragon Trainer defeated it after all.

"When you answer incorrectly, my Marowak grow so enraged that they cannot help but attack. Watch once more, carefully this time!"

"Hold on!" Lucy snapped. "I already got it! Can't we just move on?"

Kiawe stopped for just a moment, and smiled. "You're right…you will each fight your own totem in the end…but I can't keep you from aiding each other in the first round. Now… Onward to the second dance!"

The second dance went underway, and now Lucy and Natsu looked like college students receive final exam notes from a professor. They both held their hands under their chins, and Lucy put on a pair of light sunglasses to help her out with the blistering sun from above.

Then, the second dance ended after the first, only after an instant flash of light, the Marowak were now being joined by a posing hiker man, grinning with a ridiculous face off to the side."

"HUH!?" Lucy's jaw hit the ground, and Natsu hit the ground roaring with laughter in response to the silly dance finale.

"BAHAHAHA!" He laughed into the dirt. "THAT GUY JUST CAME IN AND CRASHED THE PART! Oh man, Lucy I'll let you answer since this is an easy one."

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY, NATSU!" She smacked him upside the head as he sat up off the ground, and then turned back to kiawe. "Um…the hiker?"

"B-but how?!" Kiawe was taken back. "That was truly spectacular! And to add to the spectacle... Come, my fine Hiker!"

"WAIT NOW I HAVE TO BATTLE HIM!?" She yelled out in protest. "But I got it right!?"

Lucy had no choice but to throw out her own Pokémon, but instead of showing off her expected trump card, she decided to send out the unlikely grass Capricorn instead. "Okay, Capricorn! Use _Bulldoze_ on that Magmar!"

Capricorn the Gogoat nodded. "Right, I will do it without fail."

They all watched Lucy make quick work of the pitiful hiker, even with a weaker typed Pokémon, and stood back for the third and final dance.

Kiawe crossed his arms and gave them both a smug grin. "My Hiker friend was so pleased by your right answer that he simply had to battle you! Onward...to the final dance!" He stood by with his usual serious expression, and then signaled to his partners.

The three Marowaks danced and performed around in their circle for one final round. At first, they paused to pose for a fake picture, one that even included the hiker, his name might have been David. They froze in place for just the longest time to allow Natsu more time to laugh, and Lucy more time to cringe.

Then, as they stopped dancing for the second time, they all stopped in the exact same locations, only this time a very large, and daunting Pokémon with black and velvet red skin photobombed the moment. It was so tall and menacing, it even appeared to be taller than Hiker David, though judging by its goofy expression during the dance, it was hardly vicious.

Kiawe looked very pleased with his dancers, and as such proudly turned toward Lucy. "What was different from the previous dance?"

Lucy's eye twitched for a very long period of silence, and Natsu, once he finished laughing, filled her answer with one of his own.

"Oh wait! It looked like a big black Pokémon, err…I dunno, it was new is all I know!"

"That was it…" Lucy answered. "that was the totem Pokémon…tell me I'm right."

Kiawe stepped back with way too much emotion invested in their response. "B-but how?! That was truly spectacular! And to add to the spectacle... Come, Totem Pokémon!"

Lucy had enough with all the goofiness, and as such stepped forward. "Wait, Natsu. I'll take the first fight here."

"Ah man!" Natsu stopped his foot down. "But you went first last time!"

"No, you did!" She argued back. "You fought and lost, remember? It's my turn to go first this time…Go _Aquarius!_ "

Lucy knew this wasn't going to be much of a fight anyway. She wanted to get it out of the way so she could stop and watch Natsu fight Fire with fire. Besides, the worst-case scenario to unfold during her fight would be for Aquarius to launch a column of water her way, and at this moment she would totally accept that.

The tiny Brionne Zodiac landed on the field, and scowled at the enemy totem Pokémon. Its name was _Salazzle_ , and judging by its rising temperature and fowl smelling aroma, it had to be a Fire/Poison type.

"Great…" Aquarius sighed. "If I get an ounce of that gross lizard's venom on me, I'll faint myself and end the battle right then." She rolled out of the way once Salazzle launched a toxic Venom Drench attack, and burned several rocks in its path. That move actually made Aquarius take a deep breath, and concentrate on her next tactic.

"Great." Lucy feared for the worst. "Stay strong, Aquarius! You can do it!"

"Of course I can, you dumb bimbo!" She yelled back, now removing herself out from behind the rock. "I just wanted to size the loser up, first."

"What?" Lucy asked. "Well now that you know she's faster than you, maybe you can…"

"UGH!" Aquarius turned and glared at her master. "Geeze, Blondie! Are you gonna do your stupid Z-Dance, or am I gonna have to swim over there and make you do it, myself?"

"WHA-!?" Lucy did not like the sound of that, but then remembered she awarded Aquarius with the Water Z-Crystal after the last trial. "Oh right!" She then hunkered down in her stance, and waved her arms like the calm breeze of the sea. Then, she reversed her arms to the other side of her body, and flailed them upward to signify a large wave.

Aquarius then felt her blue crystal charging up, and grinned with malice as she now felt her new move, the _Hydro Vortex_ , charged and ready to go. The Zodiac spirit created a huge whirling current using her new Z-Power, and swallow the fiery target Salazzle with the full force of water. This did an extreme amount of damage, even after the Salazzle raised its Special Defense stat tri-fold due to its Totem aura.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Lucy quivered from her own Pokémon's strength. "B-But? Its aura raised Special Defense! HOW DID YOU FAINT IT IN ONE HIT!?"

"Tsk." Aquarius grabbed a sizable rock, and nailed Lucy in the head with it. "Did that hurt? Well hopefully it answered your question. I'm _STRONG_ , Lucy! I figured you of all people should have known that."

"…" Lucy gave Aquarius the darkest glare she could as she slowly reached for the empty Poké Ball siting on her belt. She grabbed it slowly, and collected her spirit without a second word. Natsu cheered from the sideline as the totem fell from battle without even getting the chance to summon a side kick. Although victorious, Lucy stomped off the platform, and back down the mountain.

"I'M GOING TO A PC! YOU'RE MEETING ME THERE ONCE YOU WIN, NATSU!"

"Geesh…" Natsu looked back as his blonde friend stormed off in an angry stupor. "I hope she sleeps off whatever's achin' her."

"Yea…" Happy the Pokédex agreed. "It was probably the angry fish lady's comment."

They both turned to find Kiawe with a serious expression staring right back at them. Immediately Natsu stepped up for his own challenge. "All right, pal! Imma need to finish this up real quick to check on Lucy! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Hmm…" Kiawe nodded. "Your friend has quite the fire in her veins. I admire her spirit."

"Yea?" Natsu smiled and raised a fist. "Well If you think Lucy has a fiery spirit, just wait until you get a look at mine!"

Kiawe grinned. "I can only imagine, Natsu Dragneel. I hear you are the son of a Fire Dragon where you come from."

"YEA!" Nastu shouted back. "I totally am! How'd you know that?"

Kiawe shook his head. "We'll talk later, and I will give you and your partner's prizes once you challenge and defeat my totem Pokémon….Now, come fourth _Turtonator!_

Natsu raised an eyebrow as a large, fiery looking snapping turtle emerged from the fires behind Kiawe and his Pokémon group. The large monster stormed up the stairs, and planted itself firmly on the battlefield with a lout war cry, and a shining aura that raised its Special Defense showered it with boosting powers for the fight to come.

"HA!" Natsu could smell the monster from where he was standing, and knew it had to be powerful. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say that's a Fire Dragon Pokémon? Now I've totally got a fire in my belly! GO _LIL' IGNEEL!_ "

Igneel 2.0, or Bagon as he was classified, soared out of its Pokémon ball to enter the battle. However, before the tiny dragon could take on his next opponent, Happy yelled out some support.

"NATSU!" He cried out. "You need ta watch out for that thing! Its defenses are super strong! It's that giant shelly thingy on its back!"

"Yea, good point." Natsu thought intently. "What else can ya tell me, Happy?"

The Blue Pokédex started rummaging through his own data base to come up with a suitable answer. "Lemmie see…The shell on its back is "chemically unstable", a-and explodes violently if struck. The hole in its stomach is its weak point…aim for his stomach Natsu!"

"I heard ya loud and clear, buddy! LIL' IGNEEL, USE DRAGON CLAW!"

The tiny Bagon declared the first move, because his totem foe held a very low speed stat, and as such delivered a powerful Dragon Claw right for the enemy's stomach.

However, despite Happy's research, that move only delivered minimal damage. Turtonator's health was now in low green, and also had the next move. He powered on the fire in his core, and shot out a monstrous cloud of purple gas.

"Turtonator used Smog! Igneel 2.0's accuracy fell sharply!"

"Oh man." Natsu spoke loud. "We'll just have to go in for a second shot! TRY ANOTHER DRAGON CLAW, BUDDY!"

The Bagon nodded, and ran as fast as his tiny feet could take him. He rolled out of the way from the totem's tackle attack, and just as he went to land his second move, the poor Pokémon suffered a hit from a tiny black lizard at the edge of the field.

"Oh no!" Happy shouted. "He called one of his ally Pokémon! That thing is poison/fire, Natsu! Just like the totem Lucy fought!"

" _Salandit_ used _Poison Gas!_ Igneel 2.0 has been badly poisoned!"

"NO!" Natsu yelled out, now looking at his tiny Bagon with yellow health. "STAY STRONG!"

Bagon cringed through the pain, and ran forward to deliver one finally move. Despite the thick purple cloud of smog covering his view, he managed to sink one final Dragon Claw onto the leg of Turtonator, and sent his health down into the early yellow.

"All right!" Natsu looked at the Totem Pokémon, but directed his words to Kiawe. "I hope your little pet here can handle fire like you say he can, CAUSE HE'S ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT COMING HIS WAY! HAPPY JR.!"

The first ball from Natsu's belt opened up and landed on the field, revealing a now evolved Happy Jr. in the form of a Torracat. The small tiger Pokémon darted around the field, and dodge several rays of fire and poison coming right for his face. He rolled to the far side of the arena, and then awaited his master's command.

"All right, now…GET IN THERE AND LICK HIM 'TIL HE FAINTS!"

"WHAT!?"

Happy and Kiawe both yelled out in confusion at the exact same time, because both were expecting Natsu to carry out his promise for delivering fire. However, the small Torracat was instead instructed to Lick his opponent until it couldn't fight or move, so that is what it did.

Happy Jr. dodged one more _Venoshock_ from Salandit, and went forward to Lick Turtonator on the belly, and just as the giant turtle Pokémon went to scratch his face, it froze in place with jolts of electricity running up and down its body.

"Happy Jr. used _Lick!_ Totem Turtonator is paralyzed! It may be unable to move!"

The totem followed the order of the alert, because as it tried to deliver its next attack, its joints froze up yet again, and set itself up for yet another Lick from the quick and agile cat.

"OH YEA!" Natsu cheered and hollered. "JUST LIKE HAPPY EATING FISH FOR BREAKFAST! TAKE THAT THING OUT, PRONTO!"

Dodge after dodge, and Lick after Lick, Happy Jr. managed to work the slow-moving turtle and the clumsy shooting lizard like they were beginner Pokémon. It rolled around the field, and sent Licks up the spine of Turtonator every chance it could, until suddenly the health of the Totem sank past its red marker, and caused the beast to fall over and faint from battle.

Happy and Kiawe's faces were totally frozen with shock, and even the Salandit left its jaw too wide open as Torracat came over to strike it with a powerful Bite attack. The small lizard fainted, and Natsu Dragneel one yet another battle in the most unconventional way possible.

"HEEHEE!" Natsu cheered for just a brief moment. Looks like we one that stupid challenge, ay Happy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy fluttered about. "You showed that trial what fire really looks like!"

"I suppose he did…" Kiawe smiled through his total loss for words. "Well, congratulations! With your keen observations, you were able to see even fine differences in our dances! And you defeated the Totem Pokémon with such ease!"

Natsu nodded, and gave Kiawe a thumbs up, but then looked down to find two abandoned red crystals sitting at the center of the field. He picked them up, but Kiawe had to give them an explanation.

"The Totem Pokémon was carrying a _Firium Z_. It is yours now. This is how you use the Fire-type Z-Power!" Kiawe wasted no time in displaying his powerful Z-Move dance. He raised both hands, as if they were holding steaming hot balls of fire. He rose them up high in the air, and then crossed one arm over the other as he extended his right palm outward.

Natsu mimicked the move, and provided a goofy smile while he was at it. Happy laughed and shook his virtual head, and Kiawe nodded with approval as h carried on congratulating the trial victor. He stated by turning to thank his assistant Pokémon for their dances moves from earlier. "Thank you, my dear Marowak!"

He then turned back around to face Natsu. "For when you meet a Pokémon that you would like to make your companion, take these! What's more! You may now use the Ride Pokémon Charizard. Charizard will lend you his strength, and you will be able to go anywhere you have been in an instant."

"Whoa, really!" Natsu cheered. 'thanks! That'll be loads of help when Lucy and I need to fly around the island, plus that's my favorite Pokémon!"

"So I should have guessed, Natsu the Fire Dragon Slayer…" Kiawe provided a small smirk for his new friend. "I know your name from a mutual friend of ours. The creator of this world, Nigel Thomas spoke very highly of you on his tour through Alola. He looks forward to showing this world off to others in the future."

"Wait, you saw Nigel!" Natsu's eyes widened. "W-Where is he! We gotta find him!"

Kiawe shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm no longer certain where he is…I'm sure he is somewhere though, performing the miracle dance throughout this mighty region."

The Fire Captain then looked toward the beating hot sun melting the islands of Alola as he shared his next thought. "The Firium Z...you should show it to the Trial Guide outside the captain's barricade at the bottom of the mountain. It is time for us to return to our dance. The feelings of the Alolan people and our Pokémon, and the true nature of Z-Power... The answers lie in our dance! And so we must dance on!"

"Amen to that." Natsu didn't care much for dancing, but he liked the fiery side that Kiawe had to offer for the trials of Alola. "Kiawe, it was nice meetin ya!"

"You too, Natsu Dragneel." Kiawe replied. "Send Lucy my congrats and regards. I hope you two receive the best of luck throughout your trials of Alola."

"You bet we will!" Natsu provided one last wave goodbye, and turned for the southward exit down the slope for Wela Volcano Park. "All right, time ta go find Lucy and show her our new toy. Now we can keep this journey alive, and start huntin' for Nigel again."

"Aye Sir!" Happy boldly replied, and flew in right behind his noble partner in crime. "Let's find that grouch, Lucy and get this train rollin' again! I can't wait to see what the Island Challenge offers to show you guys next time!"

* * *

 **Okay, the fire trial was easily my favorite trial from the game. So funny with the hiker and totem poses! Lucy and Natsu both won that one pretty easily...almost _too_ easily.**

 **New chapter tomorrow!**


	14. 13: Trial 4: Bloom Doom

**Author's Note: Well okay, we're going straight into the next trial here! I hope everyone is ready? By the way, does anyone notice how I'm naming the trial chapters...?**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen - Trial 4: Bloom Doom

* * *

"Come on, Natsu, if we pool our money together, we can just stay in the motel for the night. It beats those tiny couches in the PC any day."

Lucy was outside an old but sturdy Motel building with Natsu on Route 8 after just leaving the next door PC. She and Natsu had made it all the way around the north end of the island after beating Kiawe's fire trial, and now found themselves closer to their next destination.

"Agh, fine!" Natsu slapped a wad of Poké Dollars into the hand of his best friend, and Lucy nodded with glee as she entered the lobby of the motel to pay for their room.

"Great!" She returned with a receipt. "I guess its first come, first serve, so let's try finding the nicest room." She and Natsu split up, and looked down the long stretch of available spaces, but the first one Lucy stepped into appeared to have vacancy.

"O-Oh…hi, Gladion."

It appears that another familiar face was residing in the Akala Motel on Route 8, but before Lucy could ask any further questions, the sour boy turned to face her.

"Get out."

 _*SLAM*_

Lucy shut the door as if a spooky ghost haunted the other side. She then sighed deeply with regret. "Man…what is that kid's deal? I know he's part of Team Skull…but maybe it's harder on him than we realize?"

"HEY LUCY!" Natsu shouted over from the far end of the motel. "I got an empty one! Now can we head down to the Lush Jungle, already!?"

The Lush Jungle was their next target on the Island Trial Challenge route. Located past Route 8, this vibrant island forest was home to a large collection of exotic Pokémon, but more importantly, also housed their next trial.

"Heehee!" Natsu laughed to himself as they walked along the stony beach front of western Route 8. "So do ya think this will be a Grass-type trial? It's in a jungle, after all!"

"Yea, that sounds pretty likely, actually!" Lucy agreed. "This should be easy for you, right? You're all set up to dominate this trial, Natsu!"

"Oh yea I am!" Natsu rubbed his hands together. "I hope the field's nice and open, otherwise me and my team will burn that place down to a pile of ashes!"

"Yea?" Lucy shivered with slight fear in her voice. "Well…just make sure I'm out of there when you do it..."

The two trainers finally turned the corner, and came across the usual totem gate guarding the vibrant Lush Jungle. They noticed the large overgrowth of trees and vegetation as well guarded by rocks on the other side, but could barely believe that after seeing just how big this space was.

They both nodded at one another, and passed through the gate to officially begin their next trial. The opening at the front of the jungle was very wide, which made for great battling, and as they entered the forest, Lucy spotted a very familiar face standing at the feet of a few tall trees.

"Oh hey! It's Mallow!"

The cheery, green-haired Mallow turned to give both of her visitors a bright smile upon their arrival. "Thanks for stopping by! Welcome to Lush Jungle, the trial grounds for me, Mallow! I hope your trials are going well so far?"

"Yea, better than ever!" Lucy confirmed. "Anyway, it's good to finally meet you in a professional setting! We're ready when you are."

Mallow gave Lucy a firm nod of her head. "I knew it the first time I saw you and your team... You've chosen only the finest ingredients! That's why I'm gonna make you help me—er, no! I mean, that's why you should try my trial! You are the one who got a Sparkling Stone straight from Tapu Koko, aren't you? You're so totally ready for this!"

"Uhhh…" Lucy now felt suspicious that she and Natsu were only here to finish chores for their nice new friend. She then mumbled quietly to herself. "Are any of these trails actually going to be legitimate…?"

Mallow and Natsu never answered, as they were both too busy admitting the lush canopy above. The captain carried on. "Ah, the breath of the jungle... I can tell just what today's special should be... Yup! It's gotta be! My personal specialty: _the Mallow Special!_ "

"Hehe…" Natsu sighed. "That's not really a clever name, ya know?"

Lucy looked at Natsu. "Yea? Well I'm surprised you were able to figure that one out on your own."

Mallow covered her face to laugh at both her quirky guests. "I'm gonna need you to find _four ingredients_ for me! I'll need a Mago Berry, a Tiny Mushroom, a Revival Herb, and a Miracle Seed! Here you go! I brought you a _Forage Bag_ to hold all the ingredients gathered for your trial."

Lucy accepted the bag on behave of her tag-team, but started scratching her head in frustration. " _Agh!_ Didn't we just pass a grocery store on the way out here? Like back at that Battle Royal plaza?"

Mallow totally ignored her question again, and pointed at the bag. "If you put the trial ingredients in your own bag, they'd get mixed up with your stuff, right? When you're hunting for ingredients, you're gonna want to rely on _Stoutland's_ help. It'll find things that you don't see, after all. You remember what I told you at the farm, right?"

Lucy nodded, but Natsu turned away with a confident smile. "HA! This'll be totally easy! After all I have a nose of champions! I don't even need your stupid dog's help!"

Mallow clapped in support of Natsu's daring decision, and gave them both one last cheery smile. "OK, one more time! There are four things you need to get for me to clear your trial! A Mago Berry, a Tiny Mushroom, a Revival Herb, and a Miracle Seed! You got that? OK, then here in Lush Jungle... It's time for Mallow's trial to begin!"

Right as the whistle blew, Natsu darted off in a totally random direction. Meanwhile, Lucy frantically waved as he ran away. "HEY! We need to organize a plan, first! Oh man…this is going to be the worst trial, isn't it?"

Mallow giggled at Lucy's strife. "Well, he certainly isn't one for strategies, is he?"

Lucy did not want to agree with her, but she had to. "Yea…you'll see it when he fights the Totem Pokémon in just a minute."

As Lucy and Natsu divided and conquered the jungle, the two teammates slowly but surely found all four items they needed. Natsu wandered up far enough to locate the Mago Berry under an exposed bush, and the Miracle Seed under a pile of rocks. Lucy stayed back in the southern half of the forest, and quickly located two types of mushrooms, but as she reached for the coveted tiny variant, the large one sprung out of the ground and attacked her and her team. Once she defeated this mysterious Pokémon, she rounded the eastern half of the jungle, and located the finally missing Revival Herd under a piled of exposed rocks.

After finding all items, Lucy noticed Mallow had followed her up the path to give her further confirmation of her success. "Ooh, looks like you got everything! OK, it's time for us to start cooking, so come on back to the entrance of the jungle!"

* * *

Eventually they all re-grouped at the jungle's entrance. Mallow instructed her two trial goers on what to do next. "Hey, Natsu! Glad you could meet us here, and you found the other items! Great! Now that we've got all the ingredients, we just need..."

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"How are you Mallow?"

Mallow, Lucy, and Natsu all three turned around to find the serious expression of Kiawe, and the calm face of Lana approaching their group from the jungle gate. Mallow waved as they arrived, and invited them over. Before Lucy or Natsu could say anything, however, Kiawe and Lana continued by handing over more items to the grass trial captain.

"I've brought a Thick Club and a Rare Bone."

"And I brought you some Fresh Water and the usual Rocky Helmet."

Mallow nodded with delight. "Thanks, Lana! Thanks, Kiawe! Now we've got everything we need! You're up next, Lucy! Or, I assume you have everything from you and Natsu, hehe…We're going to cook up a storm and lure out the Totem Pokémon of Lush Jungle!"

She laid everything out on a pink blanket, and threw down some assorted dishes to fill with ingredients. "Let me see what you've got for me... One Mago Berry, check! One Tiny Mushroom, check! One Revival Herb, check! One Miracle Seed, check! Perfect! Just what the recipe calls for. Now we can make the _Mallow Special!_ "

"Umm…" Natsu started getting confused. "Sorry, but what exactly are tryin' ta do here? Are we making lunch, or…?"

"No silly!" Mallow laughed. "The aroma of this tasty dish will draw that Totem Pokémon right to us! Ready to start cooking?"

Lucy looked at Natsu, and after his firm nod, had provided an answer. "Um, yea if you guys are ready, we are too."

Mallow agreed. "OK! Lana! Flip that Rocky Helmet over, and let's pour that Fresh Water into it! Then in go the Mago Berry, the Tiny Mushroom, the Revival Herb, and the Miracle Seed... Kiawe, let us use the Thick Club and that Rare Bone for a minute!"

She, Kiawe, and Lana prepared their own items as they went into prepping the meal, and after finishing their own rounds, it was the trail goers turn to jump in. "OK, Natsu or Lucy! Grab the Thick Club and the Rare Bone and pound it all to a pulp!"

"OKAY!" Natsu grabbed the large bone, and without orders from Mallow, started destroying the meal with brute force.

Lucy looked very worried to see him dismantling the ingredients so fast, but from the look she gathered from Mallow's face, he seemed to be doing it right.

"Smack it!"

"Crush it!"

"Grind it!"

"Turn it to goo!"

Lucy was starting to get sick as a very pungent pink aroma flew around the jungle and into the air. She thought about sitting down for a moment since she was going to let Natsu fight the Totem first, but rapidly shook her head the moment a very large, dark shadow peered out of the trees and into their area.

It was a great big, pink preying mantic Pokémon, with flamboyant legs and razor sharp arms. It screeched at the smell of the aroma, and swiped at the humans for trying to steal its meal.

Natsu raised a fist in response, and reached down for his first Pokémon. "All right, ugly! Prepare to get burned! GO _TWEETY!_ "

"TWEETY!?" Lucy was losing track of all the Pokémon Natsu had been catching, and after seeing a very large, fiery hawk Pokémon, she had even more reason to wonder how Natsu was training his team up to be such high levels. His new Pokémon, named _Talonflame_ , was at the max level of 35, meaning he couldn't risk it leveling up any more, or else he would lose control of it on Akala Island.

He didn't look worried from that thought, however, and even after the Totem Lurantis raised its Speed stat due to its high totem aura, his flaming bird still had the better speed.

 _"_ _All right…"_ Lucy grew nervous from the size of the large insect. _"I need to watch carefully if I want to win the next battle. I need to see how Natsu handles its first move, and maybe I can learn what moves it has after a few…"_

"OKAY TWEETY LET'S USE THAT Z-MOVE!"

"WHAT!?"

Natsu performed the fire dance that Kiawe taught him at Wela Park, and as he did his own Pokémon lit up with an intense aura of energy. It enveloped a circle of fire, and just then the mighty bird released its true Z-Power— _Inferno Overdrive_.

Talonflame cloaked itself in a burst of flames, and a stream of intense fire shot out toward the target totem with the full force of its Z-Power. As usual, the power varied depending on the original move, but with Natsu hitting the choice of _Flame Charge_ , it delivered a fairly powerful physical damaging move.

Despite the awesome power, the superior level, and the super effectiveness advantage, Talonflame only sent Lurantis into the high red of health, and still kept it alive due to its unnaturally high defense stat.

Lurantis went to make its first move, but then felt a flash of pain burning from its side. Talonflame's ability, Flame Body, sent a spark of fire surging up the totem's body, and left it with a burn status effect.

"Totem Lurantis is badly burned."

The Lurantis, although mighty as a totem, watched its health sink down past the red from the burn, and somehow managed to be fainted all in one single move. This left everyone else in attendance it a state of total shock.

"WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED!?"

Lana and Mallow, and even Kiawe and Lucy were thrown totally off guard by the amount of power Natsu provided for Talonflame. They watched the Totem Pokémon of the Lush Jungle fall to one single hit, and looked to see the victorious Natsu deliver his usually cheeky grin.

"Hehe…told ya it's be easy, Lucy!"

"But…how…how did you…?" Lucy was totally lost, and judging by Mallow, the trial captain's face, she had every right to look confused.

"Yea…" Mallow later agreed. "I've never seen anyone one-shot the totem Pokémon in this trial before…that's amazing!"

"No kidding…" Kiawe nodded. "He uses the Fire Z-Power so flawlessly…I suppose it makes perfect sense."

Lana joined in too. "Well, no wonder you tried using all fire-types in my trial, Natsu. You probably would have won it sooner or later with that kind of power and determination."

"Yea yea…" Natsu waved all the praise away. "Just give me the little grass crystal and step out of the way. It's Lucy's turn now, and you guys are really in for a treat then!"

"Really? Is that so?" Mallow beamed at the blonde trainer. "Well let me heal my little friend here, and we'll get right back too it!"

"Umm…" Lucy now felt nervous as Natsu supplied her with all sorts of new pressure. "Natsu, why would you say that?"

"Cause!" He yelled out. "You're like the best trainer I've ever seen! You really have a mind for this stuff, and those Celestial Spirits of yours really give ya practice."

"Aye!" Happy chimed off. "Lucy's use to barking orders at little helpers, ain't she? No wonder this stuff suits her really well!"

"Happy…I'd prefer it if you went back inside Natsu's bag for my fight." Lucy walked forward, and waited for Mallow to heal her jungle Totem Pokémon in order for the fight to recommence. She calculated everything she could going into this rising new challenge.

 _"_ _Okay…I know nothing about this Pokémon, except the fact that Natsu's Z-Power can one-shot it…but what about mine? He used a fully evolved Pokémon, and I just have Loke…but he has to have some power as a Litleo...right?"_

She braced for her opponent to come back to life, and after a quick Max Revive supplied by Mallow, the large, pink mantis Pokémon sprung back up onto the battlefield, and charged back toward the fruity dish.

"HEY!" Lucy shouted to gather its attention. "I'm over here! GO _LOKE!_ "

She threw out her trusty Lion of the Zodiac, and just then the small Litleo landed on the ground, and quickly collected his surroundings.

"Okay, Lucy." Loke spoke up. "Looks like it's my time to shine for you…we'll beat this guy and keep this adventure going."

"Thank you Loke…" Lucy gave him a supportive nod, and pointed forward. "All right, I'm not wasting any time either! Z…!"

Lucy wanted to use the Z-Power of Fire, but just realized she stormed off from Wela Park Volcano too fast for Kiawe to teach her. More importantly she paid no attention to Natsu during the last battle when he performed the dance, and only kept her eye focused on the impressive Talonflame and Totem Lurantis.

"OH CRAP!" Lucy shouted over to the peanut gallery. "Someone teach me that fire Z-Move, pronto!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Natsu yelled back with little support, and Kiawe even gave Lucy a look of pure shock.

This, of course gave Lurantis time to strike back with a powerful _Razor Leaf_ attack, which while not super effective, did bring Loke into the lowest green of his health.

Lucy grew too angry at her friends on the side line, and decided to take matters into her own hands. "Right, well Loke, use a _Flame Burst!_ "

"You've got it, beautiful!" Loke tried remaining confident and humorous, but even he knew this was going to be an interesting battle. Loke surrounded his body in a veil of golden flames, and shot out like a rocket right for the target Lurantis. The totem grass type felt its health sink into the middle yellow stage, and just before the next turn took its mark, the totem called for its usual aid.

Soon after, a small flying Pokémon named _Trumbeak_ flew in to help its lord of the jungle, and then the second stage of attacks came through.

"Alright, well try hitting it again, Loke! It's in the yellow now, which means one more attack will faint it for sure!"

Loke nodded. "Well, we'll at least have the record for the second fastest grass-trial." Loke surrounded himself in the same flames from before, but before he could deal out an attack, Lurantis summoned energy from the sun to provide further support.

"Totem Lurantis used _Synthesis!_ Lurantis gained health."

"Oh no!" Lucy snapped out loud. "The Totem just healed himself!"

"Great." Loke sadly agreed. "Well, this might take longer than we…"

"Trumbeak used _Supersonic!_ Loke is now confused."

Loke felt a ray of radio waves hit his face, which eft him all too dizzy to continue fighting for his master. He began seeing small yellow chicks floating around his head, and turned away from the battle to regain his vision."

"Whoa…hey Lucy is it just me, or have your beautiful eyes gotten bigger…?"

"My…Loke are you okay?" Lucy reached out to tap him on the head, and the tiny cat carried on bobbling around like a sick patient.

"Hehe…" The once-suave Celestial Spirit chuckled. "I think you're getting bigger in other places too…hehe."

"Grrr!" Lucy smacked him across the face, and kicked him back in to the battle. "Keep talking like that, and you'll be fighting three things at the same time!"

Loke wanted to tell her that he was only kidding, but then felt a second _Razor Leaf_ attack him from behind. He heard Lucy cream frantically after the hit, but only saw two large wings flapping toward him, followed by the well-sized claws of Trumbeak scratching him in the face.

"Trumbeak used _Pluck!_ "

Loke felt his health tragically deplete after both hits, and felt his Hp bar sink past the red and into the right conditions to faint.

"LOKE!" Lucy knelt down to grab her good friend, and best chance at winning this trial, but unfortunately the small fire feline lowered his head from a final defeat. She collected him in his ball, and tried a new strategy.

"All right…now you've gone and made me angry…GO _ARIES!_ "

Lucy tossed out her fluffy but powerful ram, Aries, who landed on the field as a pink and green _Flaffy_.

"Oooo." Aries cued. "I'm so sorry that Loke fainted, Miss Lucy. I'm sorry, but I'll try and win this fight for you!"

"That's great Aries!" Lucy encouraged the positive attitude. "Listen, I need you to hit Lurantis with _Thunder Wave_. Right now, it's way too fast for me to land a hit, so maybe you can slow it down with that before we try something else."

"Ooo." Aries actually liked Lucy's plan. It made perfect sense since her electric power attacks would don virtually nothing against the Totem Pokémon. She did expect to attack Trumbeak, but otherwise followed orders to support her loving master.

"Oooo! I'm sorry! You've got it, Lucy!" Aries charged up a high amount of voltage, but forgave the next attack to the powerful Totem, Lurantis.

"Totem Lurantis used _Solar blade!_ Totem Lurantis absorbed light!

"Oh well that's just great!" Lucy knew what the move _Solar Beam_ did, and she also knew that after a turn for charging, it dealt out a powerful beam of ultra-violet radiation. This appeared to be a physical attacking variant of the same move, but as Lucy braced for the next turn, something terrible happened against her favor.

"Totem Lurantis became fully charged due to its _Power Herb!_ "

"…WHAT THE-!?"

Lucy had no time to react, because at that very moment, the mighty Lurantis grasped a mighty beam of solar energy from the sky, and slammed it down on poor Aries tiny head. The fluffy electric Pokémon was usually very good at tanking hits, but due to the move's very high power, the user's high physical attack stat, and the STAB potential of the Grass-typing combo, the _Solar Blade_ fainted tiny Aries in just one measly hit.

"NO!" Lucy cried out as yet another beloved spirit fell to the might grass totem. She was growing extremely worried, and even heard her best friend yelling from the sideline.

"COME ON, LUCY!" Nastu cheered on. "YOU CAN DO IT! GRIND THIS STUPID THING UP LIKE YOU DID IN THE LAST TRIAL!"

 _"_ _That's easier said than done, Natsu…"_ She didn't let him hear her pessimistic choice of words, but instead remained silent as she thought of her next move to counter this daunting threat in front of her. _"Well…I can't risk sending Capricorn out just yet…this thing has a partner that's Flying…maybe I need to take it out first…NO! I can't break from my normal routine. I-It's been so successful so far! I need to use all the power I have…I need…"_

"GO _TAURUS!_ " Lucy threw her next choice out for the battle, and settled on the mighty but perverted Golden Bull of the Zodiacs—Taurus the Tauros.

"Mooooo!" Taurus bellowed once his hooves hit the field. "Well, Miss _Looocy_ , are ya gonna give me a _smoooch_ if I deliver a win for ya here?"

"Not now, Taurus!" Lucy tried to sound as genuine and serious as she could for her loose minded bull. "I need you to focus. This thing has already taken out 2 Spirits, and I'm worried that it's just getting started!"

"Well…" He spoke back. "That does actually sound pretty serious…but hey! Anything for you and that rockin' bod!"

"Ugh…" Lucy was still unsure if she had actually broken through to him. "Look, I…oh forget it! GET READY TO ATTACK!"

Taurus turned back to look at his trainer, but suddenly felt a mysterious golden glow surrounding his body. "Hey, what gives?! You're not sending me back to the Spirit world, are you!?"

"NO!" Lucy tried shouting back. She then raised her arms in a circular fashion, and formed a Z with extended arms and balled up fists. "I'm giving you my Z-Power! You have to take that thing out!"

"ME!?" Taurus shouted. "Don't get me wrong, Miss Lucy, I'll fight anything to keep that body of yours safe, but doesn't Loke have the better Z-Move thing right now?"

"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT, TAURUS!" Lucy shouted over the shining golden light. "YOU'RE Z-MOVE IS ALL I HAVE LEFT TO BEAT THIS THING! IF YOU REALLY WANT TO PROTECT ME! START BY TAKING THAT LURANTIS _DOWN_ RIGHT HERE!"

 _"_ _MOOO!"_ Taurus yelled back with fire in his eyes and power in his belly. "I'M FEELIN' THE _SMOOOCH_ FROM THAT Z-POWER, MISS LUCY!"

Taurus built up its momentum using its Z-Power awarded by Lucy, and launched himself like a raging torpedo right for Lurantis. He crashed into the target totem Pokémon at full speed, and enveloped the far side of the field in a cloud of dust from his relentless _Breakneck Blitz._

 _"_ _TAURUS!"_ Lucy cried out to hear a response from her challenging partner, but couldn't make out anything after the hit had landed. If she wanted to see the end of this battle as a winner, she needed to rely on Taurus's brute strength and raw power. She needed him to win this fight.

* * *

 **Well, in case your new to my page/stories, you'll know I do a fair amount of cliff hangers now and then...I find them to be very entertaining for everyone, in a slightly cruel way.**

 **Part 2 tomorrow? Hopefully!**


	15. 14: The Key to Victory

**Author's Note: Well! Let's get back to that amazing Totem fight! BTW, has anyone seen Hiro Mashima's Twitter lately...he's over there postin' some pretty suggestive NaLu stuff.**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen - The Key to Victory

* * *

Lucy covered her eyes while the dust from Taurus's attack flew up in the air, and slowly settled back to the ground. Natsu and the others also felt the shockwave from the brutal Z-Move and shielded their eyes from the results while the cloud of dirt stayed up in the air.

Then, when the dust settled, the damage was revealed, but the reveal was not as wonderful as Lucy would have liked it to be.

"No…it didn't faint it."

The daunting totem, Lurantis, still sat on the field with low, but in-tact red health. Taurus gave it everything he had, but the high defense of the Grass-type, and the non-super effectiveness of Taurus's normal-typing was not enough to end the fight for the totem.

Lurantis wasted no time in using the annoying _Synthesis_ attack to raise his health back to the low-but-safe green range, and his partner Trumbeak decided to go even further with the endless taunting.

"Trumbeak used _Supersonic!_ Taurus is now confused!"

"Oh no!" Lucy shouted. "Taurus, are you all right!?"

"mm….." Taurus was seeing stars circling around his head, and soon after, he began seeing images of a wizard who wields stars flaunting her very curvaceous figure.

"OH MISS _LOOOCY!_ I CAN'T KEEP YOUR ROCKIN' FIGURE OUT OF MY MIND!"

"Ugh…" Lucy grabbed the bridge of her nose. "I'M JUST GONNA LET THEM FAINT YOU WITH THAT KIND OF TALK!"

And it didn't take that long for her request to be accepted. Lurantis used a _Razor Leaf_ attack, and paired with its own high attack stat, and a quick _Pluck_ from its partner Trumbeak, Taurus fell to the ground and quickly saw dirt instead of a comedic Lucy with stars.

The angry Celestial trainer grabbed her empty Poké Ball, and re-acquired Taurus. She calculated the rest of her team, and realized her only remaining Pokémon were Capricorn, Virgo, and the ineffective Aquarius.

 _"_ _Well…Aquarius is usually my ace for these sort of battles, but grass Pokémon will faint her really quickly…"_ Lucy was struggling with what to do next in her battle. _"Capricorn's an odd choice too, that Trumbeak is super effective…what about Virgo? She does have that weird psychic power!"_

"GO _VIRGO!_ " The trainer made up her own mind, and tossed out the Poké ball that contained her very unusual normal-type, Audino. The pink and white Pokémon with shining blue eyes landed on two delicate feet, and bowed back to her trainer.

"Yes, Princess. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Virgo!" Lucy shouted back. "Take out that bird Pokémon!"

"You're wish is my command. Shall I use my Diver magic, or…?"

"NO!" Lucy caught her just in time. "It won't have any effect! Use that powerful psychic move from earlier!"

"Ah." Virgo blankly nodded. "Certainly, but this is one of your important trials, is it not? Wouldn't it be better if I…?"

Just then, the Lurantis charged up a powerful amount of solar energy, preparing for a deadly assault on the next turn. However, what stopped Virgo in her thoughts was a supersonic series of waves coming out of the birds, mouth, which just barely floated past her head and off the field.

Lucy put her foot down once again. "NO TIME TO ARGUE! JUST DO IT NOW!"

"Very well." Virgo nodded, and summoned a large cloud of purple energy to surround the flying beak Pokémon. Virgo released thousands of tiny purple rocks with maximum pressure, and as she released the energy, Trumbeak suffered the hit, and felt his health lower into the red.

"Virgo used _Psyshock!_ "

The psychic ray was not enough to take the enemy down with one hit, which worried Lucy because it was now time for the monstrous Lurantis to make due on its previous attack.

"Totem Lurantis used _Solar Blade!_ "

The large yellow sword of solar energy slammed into the head of the aloof Audino, but just as the cloud receded, it only left Virgo with medium damage.

"Virgo!" Lucy cheered. "You're still in this!"

Virgo went to nod, but took a powerful _Pluck_ attack to her face as well. This sent her into the low red range of her health, but still provided just enough time for her to send out a second attack. She used another _Psyshock_ to faint Trumbeak, and gave Lucy a little more breathing room for the remainder of her trial.

"Uhh…thanks Virgo. That was amazing!"

"No problem at all Princess." Virgo nodded. "Though I suppose I could have fainted him in one hit. I can't wait to be punished once you and your friends have returned to the regular world."

"Yea…" Lucy sighed again. "I'll give you a free pass this time…" She saw Lurantis chuck a powerful _Razor Leaf_ attack at Virgo, which finally fainted her, and left Lucy with just two Pokémon left.

"OKAY!" She shouted. "I just needed to get rid of that bird for my next spirit! GO _CAPRICORN!_ "

Capricorn the Gogoat landed sternly on the field of battle, and lowered his head to prepare for an attack. "I'm here to assist you, My Lady. What shall you ask me to do?"

"Take this freaky Bug Pokémon dow…!" Lucy pointed out the obvious opponent, with its shining totem aura, but just then a second S.O.S. Pokémon darted into save its beloved leader of the jungle. This one was tiny and grey, and held a sweet smile as it floated into battle.

"Awe…!" Lucy cooed for a small moment before snapping back into reality. "Wait! Why does it get a new type of Pokémon!?"

She went to say more, but the large Totem Pokémon quickly healed itself with a Synthesis, and then gave the reins to the new Pokémon, _Castform_. Castform used a peculiar Sunny Day, which launched a harsh beam of sun light all across the battlefield, and gave Lucy the next turn. However, just before anything else happened, Castform's Forecast ability activated, which quickly charged its shape to fit a bright sun floating on a cloud.

"Oh great… I don't like this already." Lucy could tell from everything that recently happened that this was about to be a rough conclusion to the trial. She geared Capricorn up for his attack, and instructed him to make his next move. "Go ahead and use _Take Down_ , Capricorn! It's a grass-type, and your ability won't let you take damage from his moves!"

"Lady Lucy, you have my word that we will win this fight." Capricorn jumped swiftly into action, and charged forward with two fiery hot horns right for the body of Lurantis. The mighty Totem tanked most of the hit, and even provided Capricorn with additional recoil damage.

Lucy bit her lip with frustration, and to make matters worse, she had now given control of the fight to her opponents. Lurantis charged up a powerful Bug move, _X-Scissor_ , which Lucy did not know it had. That made it super effective versus Capricorn's grass-typing, and left her mighty Seagoat injured with blinking red health.

Then, before she could blink her own eyes to match the pace of her Pokémon's health, Castform shot out a peculiar _Weather Ball_ , which launched a small but deadly ball of fire into the head of the Zodiac, and fainted him right there.

Lucy watched Capricorn fall in defeat, and stared back at the battlefield with shock and disbelief. This game let three wild Pokémon craft a nearly unbeatable strategy that readied their team for any challenging opponent. Her hands started quivering, only this was nothing like that the last time she lost a Pokémon battle.

Back in Kalos, Lucy broke down with tears because she blamed her team's failures on herself, and the second time she lost in the Elite 4, she was left without words. Now, she was angry. Angry that this trivial children's game outsmarted her and her team of Celestial Spirits. Natsu defeated the beast with one lousy hit and zero preparation. She wanted to stand there and brood over her humiliating loss, but just then her shining water-type Aquarius summoned herself out to the field in a star of yellow light.

"Aquarius…?" Lucy felt hesitation in her words, and blinked several times to collect the scene. "What are you…?"

"Me?" Aquarius replied with a sharp attitude. "I'm losing this fight, and getting you out of here to think up another plan."

"Wha…?" Lucy let the angry color of red recede from her face. "But I…?"

Both women stood there with dead silence as the now raging _Sunny Day_ powered up Lurantis with a fully charged _Solar Blade_. The large grass-type took no hesitation in slamming it down on the puny head of Aquarius, and right after landing the hit, it met a very angry Natsu Dragneel charging up to fight it.

"OY!" He yelled with pure defensive anger. "WHAT KINDA CRAP IS THAT!? THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN JUST BEAT LUCY LIKE THAT AND…!"

"Natsu." Lucy stood up after collecting Aquarius's Poké Ball, and turned away from the fight. "You can't hit it…I lost, let's go."

"Ehhh…?" Natsu stopped in the middle of a punch, and turned to find Lucy walking herself out of the jungle. The three trial captains stood by with silent expressions, and Natsu was left with his own bit of pain eating him up in side.

"NO!" Happy was hovering around in a state of panic, and rushed toward his fleeing blonde comrade. "Come on, Natsu! We have to make sure she's…!"

"No, Happy. Not this time."

"BUT!" Happy stopped lying, and grew very confused. "But we can't just let her leave on her own!"

Natsu was going to let Lucy do just that. She was smarter than he was, and better at playing this game. He knew his constant yelling would only distract her from making new plans. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't sad, and as a result, decided to let the Celestial Spirit Wizard figure this one out on her own.

"Lucy…" Natsu spoke to himself. "Don't you dare give up on this fight."

* * *

Lucy had returned to the nearest Pokémon Center on her own. She knew not to give up on herself, and Natsu did not need to worry about his blonde haired best friend. She was certain she would win eventually, but the real question on her mind…was how to beat that totem.

"I'm not sure what to do, Aquarius." Lucy admitted to her starter Pokémon in the lounge of the PC. "I started with my fire-type. I figure that's the only way I'll be able to deal significant damage on that Lurantis thing."

"Oh for the love of…" Aquarius rolled her eyes. "It's a damn kids' game, you moron. There's gotta be some loophole in your favor. Heck that stupid fire breather beat the thing in one hit."

Lucy looked up. "So what are you trying to say?"

Aquarius sat up. "USE YOUR FIRE TYPE! Just because the thing fainted Loke on the first round, doesn't mean it'll do it again. That _Supersonic_ is the move that did you in, and that stupid Pokedex thing of yours says its got crap accuracy."

"Yea…I guess that is my only option." Lucy tried to recollect every single detail about her fight. "Okay…Lurantis was holding a _Power Herb_ , and it also had the moves _Solar Blade, X-Scissor, Razor Leaf_ , and _Synthesis_ …that's a really good move set. Not to mention it's friend Pokémon have _Confusion Ray_ and _Sunny Day!_ "

"Psh!" Aquarius rolled her eyes again. "What did that stupid weather ball do that was so special anyway?"

Lucy explained. "It used _Sunny Day_. With a fully powered sun, Lurantis can spam that _Solar Blade_ attack without having to recharge…come to think of it, I wonder if _Synthesis_ heals it more with sunlight too."

"So?" Aquarius leaned back as if she found the answer. "Stop the sunny day, or try to use it to your advantage."

"Stop the _Sunny Day_?" Lucy asked with a gaping mouth. "But how am I supposed to…?" Then, she remembered back to her first playthrough in the Kalos region. Her partner Lapras (which awkwardly held both spirits of Gray and Juvia) had a unique ability that summoned random _Hail_ into the battle. She also remembered the effects of the legendary Pokémon from Hoenn, after watching Natsu deal with them in his own game.

"THAT'S IT!" Lucy cheered. "I know how to do it! I know how to change the weather!"

"Yea?" Aquarius let her eyes wonder over to the PC coffee shop. "What about that weird Herb thing? It one-shot Aries because it charged her attack."

"Yea…you're right." Lucy was thankful Aquarius caught that, but now she felt annoyed that there was another hole in her plan. Then, she remembered something Natsu told her after he received advice from Hau. "Hold on, Natsu mentioned some weird GTS thing…I think I can trade with other people in the universe…I wonder if…?"

* * *

"Aggh come on, Lucy!" Natsu was starting to kick the dirt on the floor of the Lush Jungle as he, Happy, and the trial captains of Akala Island waited for their trail goer to return for a second round with the daunting totem Pokémon, Lurantis. Even though he wanted Lucy to take her time preparing for the next fight, Natsu was starting to grow very impatient.

"Awe, come on Natsu!" Happy hovered by the head of his best friend. "We can't rush Lucy into another fight! We gotta let her come back when she's ready."

"Yea…" Natsu crossed his arms and puffed out an angry cloud of air as he took a seat in the grass off to the side.

Mallow prepared the meal just in case Lucy returned for the second fight, and gave the two visitors a smile. "You two are so adorable! It's really sweet that you care about Lucy's battles like this!"

"Yea…" Natsu agreed. "She's a good friend, and a Fairy Tail wizard…there's no reason not ta root for her next time. She'll come back and win it for sure!"

"Awe, you're super sweet sometimes, Natsu!"

Natsu looked up toward the jungle exit, and saw Lucy Heartfilia walking into the battlefield with her usual confident smile ready for a fight. He stood up with a grin of his own and cheered at her return. "Lucy! You're gonna try beating this thing again, right?"

"Oh yea!" Lucy raised a confident fist in the air. "Mallow, go ahead and send that food flying through the jungle. I'm ready when Lurantis is!"

Mallow nodded, and crushed up the bowl of new food on her own. The pink air wafted itself over to the dense leaves of the northern jungle, and just as the calm vegetation settled from the last fight, a large pink praying mantis shot through the brush and into the dirt.

Lucy grabbed her first Pokémon Ball, and began the battle with no hesitation. "Okay! GO _AQUARIUS!_ "

Natsu and the others found it very bold for Lucy to start off with the weaker water-type spirit. Aquarius landed on the field, but closed her eyes while ripe frustration tried to crack them open.

"All right, Blondie…just get it over with." Aquarius kept her jaw clenched for her remark, which only meant she knew what was coming, and did not seem to like it.

"Sorry again, Aquarius!" Lucy waved. "But we need this in order for Natsu and I to move on with the trial!"

Lurantis had the higher speed, and as such ate its useful Power Herb to quickly charge up its powerful attack. Then, the mighty Grass Totem summoned a column of pure green solar light, and slammed it down on Aquarius's head.

"Totem Lurantis used _Solar Blade!_ It's Super Effective! …Aquarius hung on using her _Focus Sash!_ "

"WHAT!?"

Mallow, Lana, Kiawe, Happy, and even Natsu all yelled out with total confusion as Aquarius managed to tank the hit with a mysterious red band of sorts keeping her health at 1 – Hp.

Lucy chimed in. "That would be a Focus Sash! I used that GTS thing to get it!

"YEA!" Natsu yelled back. "But how!?"

"Ahehe…" Lucy discovered that Nigel designed the Alola GTs to work with the ability to trade items along with Pokémon, and as such never chose to admit the fact that she traded nearly half her inventory of useful items to acquire the one-time Focus Sash.

"Eh…don't worry about it…now Aquarius, use _HAIL!_ "

"Grrr…" Aquarius was not happy that she was only used as a pawn in the larger scheme of the battle, but now that Lurantis wasted its Power Herb on her, she could send out a Hail attack to weaken her opponent and change the course of the battle. A large cloud of icy winds and rolling frost took over the small battle landscape, which changed the dynamic of both the battle and the jungle entirely.

The ally Pokémon, Trumbeak flew out of the forest, and shot out a quick Pluck attack to send Aquarius crashing to the ground, and faint in defeat.

"Ahehehe…" Lucy slowly collected her injured Water Pokémon. "She's not going to be happy with me once she wakes up…now, go _ARIES!_ "

Natsu was wondering why Lucy did not chose to go with her super effective Loke, and instead watched as Aries the ram descended onto the field with a fighting spirit.

"Okay, I'm sor…I-I mean…I'm ready to battle, Lucy!" Aries swallowed her fear and stood with a threatening stance as Lucy commanded her spirit friend.

"All right, Aries! USE _THUNDER WAVE_ ON LURANTIS!" After receiving her order, Aries waited for Lurantis to charge up a second _Solar Blade_ , which gave her time to shoot out a small wave of electric energy. This sent a spark shivering down the totem Pokémon's spine, and left it with a harsh reality waiting on the next turn.

"Aries used _Thunder Wave!_ Totem Lurantis is now paralyzed! It may be unable to move!"

"Yes!" Lucy was hoping that would work out the way it did, and now with a hardy paralysis crippling the Lurantis, she was ready to start taking the battle into an offensive direction. "Okay, Aries use _Thunder Bolt_ on Trumbeak!"

She first had to dodge a quick _Supersonic_ , but soon after Aries readied her own electric charge to hit the bird out of the sky. However, all three Pokémon first took damage from the whirling Hail, and then forfeited their turns to the usually fast Lurantis. Sadly, the Totem Pokémon was caught in a bit of paralysis as it failed to send down its powerful _Solar Blade._ This left Aries free to attack her other enemy, and sent a charged Thunder Bolt right for the flying Trumbeak.

The poor bird took the zap right to the face, and fell in sudden defeat as Aries readied herself for the next battle. The Hail performed its second round of damage, and gave Lurantis the turn to attack again. Before it attacked, however, a new S.O.S. partner Pokémon had to join the fray.

Castform threw itself onto the field, and dodged the hail attack on its way in, only the lasting winds of the battlefield did stay around long enough to power on its Forecast effect, and change it into a freezing ball of ice.

"Nice Aquarius!" Lucy cheered on her fainted spirit. "We figured out Castform's effect!"

Aries agreed with Lucy, but realized Lurantis was charging up its Solar Blade for another attack. This gave Aries a second attempt to send _Thunder Bolt_ at Castform, which sent the small Normal (Ice) type into the medium yellow due to Aries strong power and will.

Then, it happened. Castform used _Sunny Day_ , and changed the field before a third gust of _Hail_ could leave any damage. Sunny Day sent out a wide ray of blooming sunlight to decorate the battlefield in a golden glow, and quickly changed Castform from an Ice-type to a Fire-Type.

Lucy was hoping Lurantis would take more paralysis, but unfortunately it now used a mighty strong _Solar Blade_ on Aries with the full force of the sun. _Hail_ would have dramatically reduced its power, but now that _Sunny Day_ was out, there was no stopping this grass totem now.

That is, except for one Pokémon Lucy now felt ready to use.

 _"_ _LOKE!"_

Leo, the Lion of the Zodiac emerged onto the field as the small but strongminded Litleo. He noticed the Lurantis was paralyzed, but still in the green, and the Castform was now a Fire-Type in the yellow.

He also saw his opponent was cursed with paralysis, and thanks to Lucy's wit, was also now slower than Loke in battle.

"Here!" The Blonde Trainer shouted as she pressed the button on her Z-Ring. "Try this before going in!"

While sitting in the PC alone, Lucy had time to reflect on Natsu's battle with Lurantis prior to her own. She failed to remember the Fire Z-Move dance when she was put on the spot, but now knew it thanks to her memory, and a little help from her trusty red Rotomdex. She performed her dance, and powered Loke on with powerful Z-Move energy. Loke charged forward, looked Lurantis in the eye, and did the rest all on his own.

"The Zenith of Regulus… _Lion Brilliance!_ "

One of his most powerful spells, Lion Brilliance was quickly initiated as Loke took his Z-Move stance. He released a large amount of light from his body, which covered a wide radius of the battle field, and even over to the side where Natsu and others tried to watch safely in the distance. This bright light was used to momentarily blind his two opponents, forcing them to lower their guard and await their sorry fate. This offensive variant of Loke's zenith power allowed him to charge his golden flames, and breathe a stream of intense fire toward the target Lurantis with the full force of his partner's Z-Power.

The sun was raging as well, which provides all Fire-type moves with extra energy. Lucy knew that the moment Sunny Day was released, and realized once it was out, Loke could join the battle. The attack ended, Loke reared his head, and Lurantis the Totem Pokémon fell in a quick and easy defeat.

Castform sent out a measly _Water Gun_ to combat the attacker of his partner totem, but the Sunny Day dried that up and barely made it leave any damage. Loke grinned, and shook his head.

"Man, you should have just surrendered… _Regulus Impact!_ "

Flame Charge was a fire type move, and Castform was a Fire-type for the battle, but Castform was already in the yellow of his health, and Loke once again had Sunny Day. The battle ended as Loke took out the third and final Pokémon, and awarded the Grass Trial to his loyal owner, Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail.

"Loke!" Lucy ran forward and picked up her heroic lion cub. "That was amazing! You won the trial!"

"I did, didn't I?" He humbly asked himself. "Well…I did have our love fueling me the entire time."

"Uh, I think that was the Z-Power, pal." Lucy gave him a supportive grin, and collected his ball to send Loke back to rest. Meanwhile, Natsu and the others ran over to give Lucy a group hug as well, and the pink haired best friend appeared to be the loudest by far.

"LUCY!" Natsu wailed. "You beat that stupid grass thing!"

"Finally!" Happy dramatically yelled as well. "We can leave this game and turn me back into a cat!"

"You're both idiots…thanks, guys." Lucy forced herself to laugh. "And we're not out yet, Happy, but we are one step closer."

Mallow and the others clapped in support, and the Lush Jungle trial captain did not want to interrupt the good friends from their conversation until they appeared to be done.

After defeating Totem Lurantis, Mallow spoke with a soft smile. "Wow, Lucy, you're strong, huh! You too, Natsu!" You both were really able to draw out the flavor of your Pokémon in those battles! The Totem Pokémon bowed right down to you!"

Kiawe stepped up and placed his hand underneath his chin. "Yes, even back at Wela Volcano Park my vaunted Salazzle and Turtonator didn't stand a chance."

Lana added on as well. "Nor did the Wishiwashi that I had trained so carefully..."

"Heh, _duh!_ " Natsu put his hand on Lucy's shoulder and interrupted all three. "He never shoulda messed with two of Fairy Tail's strongest! We had this game beat the moment we entered Alola!"

Mallow nodded. "All right, you've cleared all three of Akala's trials! You even managed to get through my trial, and I'd say it's a real doozy! Here! A gift for such an inspiring young Trainer!"

She supplied them both with a Grass Z-Crystal. Natsu went to chuck his over his shoulder, but Lucy stopped him and forced the Fire trainer to stuff it in his bag. Mallow the showed them how to use their new power.

"Let me show you how to use Grass-type Z-Moves! You go like _"Graaassss,"_ 'K?" She sprung up like a blade of grass in warm sunlight. Natsu and Lucy both laughed, but Mallow showed no humiliation as she covered her mouth in a fit of giggles. "Since you've both cleared my trial, I want you to help me train some Pokémon from here in Lush Jungle. Hm? Looks like Lurantis didn't finish all the food. Oooh, I really want you guys to try some! Have a bite, Kiawe! You, too, Lana!"

Lucy and Natsu wanted to eat as well, but they let Kiawe and Lana have the first bite since they were stuck waiting this entire time. Lucy had to actually hold Natsu back from stealing a bowl before the two got theirs full, but once they did, the trial captains sported their opinions.

Lana nodded with slight delight. "The flavor from the Rare Bone seems to fill my whole mouth..."

Kiawe nodded. "It tastes so good you might melt... No, wait. Is that my tongue that's melting...?"

"It's...it's so..." Lana never got her next word to come out of her mouth.

Neither could Kiawe. "Uhhn!"

 _"S-SPICY!"_

Both trial captains ran for the exit, which left Mallow very angry with her old-time friends and their rude opinions. "What? What's wrong with you guys? Don't you have any taste?! Are you headed off to Olivia's for the grand trial?!"

Thus, the trial captain of the Lush Jungle fled after her delicate friends. Lucy sighed, and put her own untouched dish of Mallow Special down on the ground. "Well, I think I've got a full stomach anyway…"

"Fine by me!" Natsu already ate his bowl, and picked Lucy's up in response. "I'll take yours if you're not eatin' it!"

Lucy wanted to run away with them and leave her idiotic fire breathing friend behind in the forest, but just then the familiar face of Professor Kukui emerged from the entrance of the Lush Jungle.

"Woo!" He laughed and smelled the air. "What's that sweet smell I smell, driftin' my way?! Could it be a tasty Mallow Special?"

"Totally!" Natsu picked up an extra bowl. "There's tons left! Want some?"

Kukui laughed at Natsu's generosity, and Lucy's embarrassed expression as he carried on with the chatter. "I heard you cleared Mallow's trial, yeah? There'll be all kinds of discoveries and new experiences to make your adventure brighter!"

He paused, and collected their full attention before making his leave for the exit. "There's a facility, yeah, that I want you to go check out on your island challenge. The Dimensional Research Lab! Let's get on over there with _Extreme Speed!_ "

* * *

 **Aeeyoo! Lucy gets the come back win and takes the grass trial! Guys when I fought the grass trial in real life I lost like 3 or 4 times. It was super hard! I wanted to let Lucy experience that version, but at least she seems to handle losses pretty well.**

 **So now Lucy and Natsu are both 4-1 in the trials...this game is shaping up to be slightly harder than the past ones. New chapter tomorrow!**


	16. 15: Grand Trial 2

**Author's Note: Well I have a really busy one for you today. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Grand Trial 2: Continental Crush

* * *

"So Kukui said something about a Dimensional Research Lab…I wonder if that has anything to do with the portal that trapped us in here."

Lucy and Natsu were walking down from the Lush Jungle back to the southern shores of Hea Hea City. The blonde wizard was trying to collect what the Pokémon Professor asked them to do on their way out, and it seemed to involve meeting them at a bizarre location somewhere in the city.

"Yea? Well let's just get it over with so we can fight that Grand Trial person!" Natsu raged with confidence as he slammed his fists together. "I hear she's a rock type person! This will be a good battle for me and my fire guys!"

"Well, save some energy for the next island, Natsu." Lucy pleaded. "Remember, we do get to fight the Island Kahunas as a duo. We'll be able to help each other out this time around."

"HA!" Natsu ran forward as they finally made it to the side walk of Hea Hea City. "Leave your mermaid at home when we fight Olivia, Lucy! I want her all for myself!"

Lucy sighed, and watched her idiotic friend turn right down the road to search for the research lab on his own. She would have said more, but as Natsu remarkably found the door to the lab by himself, Lucy noticed the quiet voice of Lillie standing in the lab parking lot.

"Go, Nebby! Use...use _Splash!_ " Lillie was hardly keeping quiet as she yelled out a silly command for her tiny ball of light, Nebby. The small Pokémon cooed with delight, and gave her a small dance, which lit her face up with extreme delight.

"Heh... I was just acting like I was Lucy."

"Awe." Lucy stood back, and felt a bit of warmth cross over her face. "She's so adorable!"

Lillie had no idea Lucy was standing there, and as such continued talking to her Pokémon. "You...you always seemed to end up getting hurt, Nebby. So I never really liked Pokémon Trainers or thought that I would want to be one myself. But when I see Lucy and Natsu... It's like they've thrown open some door that I always thought was closed... They stride straight through it into the future... It seems...so amazing somehow..."

"Well, why don't you give it a try sometime?"

Lillie jumped up and clutched her bag with fear as she turned to find Lucy waving with a bright smile.

"Oh!" The mysterious professor's aid calmed down and sighed. "Um, oh, Lucy. Hello. I feel like it's been a while since we last met. Th-there's a laboratory here that studies the dimensions, did you know? And the professor is waiting to meet you!"

"Sounds great!" Lucy agreed. "But yea, we haven't seen each other in ages! Natsu and I fought through three trials!"

"How...how were your trials?" Lillie laughed. "It must be quite trying to do three in a row."

Lucy wanted to be honest for her new friend. "Well, some were easier than others. I did well against the Water and Fire ones, but the grass one…let's just say it was really tough for me."

Lillie nodded. "I would think so... But still! You made it through all three! I think that explains it. The reason you look so content and understood by Aquarius there, I mean."

"Ahehe…" Lucy concealed her weakened laughter. "Yea…we go way back, Aquarius and I…"

Lucy allowed Lillie to go in first, and let the blonde assistant head up the elevator as she noticed Natsu pestering people down in the lobby. She collected the fiery trainer and his quirky Pokédex, and made her way up the elevator to find a large laboratory with blinking lights, flashing monitors, and busy scientists hard at work.

Lucy was trying to collect the whole scene at once, but oddly enough, it was actually Natsu of all people who spoke his first thoughts. "Whoa! This looks just like that rocket place in the game I played! What was it now…Mossy deep?"

Natsu was referring to the Space Station at Mossdeep City in the version of this game he played through with the S-Class wizards of Fairy Tail. Lucy nodded, but never replied as she found Professor Kukui waving to the back offices at Lillie and a stranger with white hair and a youthful face.

"Hey there, honey!" Kukui waved for the white-haired woman to walk over and greet his trainer friends, and as she arrived, the other professor of the Alola region was introduced to the group.

"This here's Professor Burnet." Kukui gestured. "She runs the Dimensional Research Lab, yeah... And she's also my wife!"

"Oh, hi!" Professor Burnet replied with a soft smile. "You're the new comers, right? Natsu and Lucy! Lillie told me about you. She said you two were the reliable sort. Three months ago...I found Lillie lying on a beach. Cosmog in her bag also unconscious."

She wanted to add more to the story, but the professor looked at the group and noticed one usual missing face. "Hm? No Hau today?"

"Hau?" Kukui asked. "He's out doing his own thing. But he'll be the real deal someday... He could even become a kahuna, just like old Hala before him!"

"You really think so?!"

Everyone turned to find the young and energetic Hau running out of the elevator and into the group.

Kukui paused, and let out a loud laugh. "Whoa-ho! Well, yeah, I really do."

Burnet added on. "Good to see you again, Hau! It's been a while since I last saw you."

Kukui nodded, and carried on with the previous conversation now that all invited parties were present. "Anyhow, I brought the Fairies here because I wanted you to tell them about some of the mysterious phenomena here in Alola."

"Mysterious phenomena?" Lucy and Natsu both replied, but Lucy's went a step further. "Does this have anything to do with Nigel's whereabouts?

"I'd be happy to!" The Hea Hea City professor then carried on with her original task. "The mysteries of Alola, huh? Then you've got to mean...the _Ultra Wormhole!_ "

"WHAT!?" Lucy and Natsu jumped back, and Natsu shouted again. "You mean that thing that sucked us out of Magnolia and spit us up in here!?"

Burnet shrugged mysteriously. "It's extremely rare, but sometimes a hole opens in the sky over Alola. It appears that this rift leads to a different and _unknown dimension_ … The reason that people think there may be a mysterious dimension is because of the legends of fearsome Pokémon appearing from the Ultra Wormhole."

She then revealed a calculating grin. "It's very weak as proof, but I can't ignore it. There is also plenty of evidence already in the Pokédex for the existence of different dimensions, right? Even the two of you are proof of our worlds coming closer together."

"Fearsome Pokémon...?" Hau blankly interrupted Lucy as she went to ask more questions relating to their world

Professor Burnet carried on explaining. "Even normal wild Pokémon sometimes attack people, right? But the Pokémon that appeared from the Ultra Wormhole went way beyond that. They were called _Ultra Beasts_... And they were feared." She then turned to face one of the computer monitors. "If the stories are to be believed, the guardian deities of the islands fought desperately against them."

"Oh…" Lucy tried to collect everything. "So, this world you think you discovered isn't our world…well I guess this is a _video game_ and not a real place…"

Burnet covered her smiling face. "But like I said, it's all legends and folktales. It's hard to know how much is true. But I would be very happy if I somehow unravel the mysteries of the Ultra Wormhole by studying the dimensional disturbances!" She then walked everyone back to her lab office which contained a large number of valuable books and resources for studying this mysterious phenomenon. "We've recorded several known relationships between Pokémon and different dimensions in books. You can find them on the bookshelf in this lab."

"No way!" Lucy ran forward with a bright smile. "Natsu! Maybe these can help us crack the code on these games!"

"Psh!" Natsu yelled back. "Boring! I like it better when we just beat the games and leave on our own note."

"Natsu, when we beat the last games, they still didn't let us go right when we wanted them to!" Lucy argued back. "There might be an actual key to letting us leave when we want, and maybe Nigel hid it somewhere in his game."

"Okay?" Natsu replied. "So why is he not here tryin' to read these things, himself? The dude's smart enough to make these games, he shoulda known to come here and dig into the research."

"Yea…" Lucy wanted to hit herself on the head for letting that slip her mind. "But this has to help…why would it all be here for us to use otherwise?"

* * *

Natsu and Lucy were now miles ahead of their previous location, heading south for the lower end of the island near the coastal town of Konikoni City. Their route took them beyond the Memorial Hill grave site, and down through the Akala Outskirts as the two trainers reflected on everything that had previously hit them.

"Wow…" Lucy softly exclaimed. "Did you hear that story about Lillie and the professors? That was incredible!"

"Huh" Natsu asked without a clue in the world. "Uh-uh yea that was kinda wild…"

He wanted to remember what Lillie told them, but was too focused on the lasting thoughts shared with the duo by Professor Kukui.

 _"You've finished all three of Akala's trials. Woo! And now comes the big match against Olivia—the island kahuna! It's the biggest and baddest trial of them all here on Akala—the grand trial!"_

"Hehe…" Natsu started rubbing his hands together. "Maybe Lillie will meet up with us to see our fight against Olivia! We're gonna rock her world with that Fairy Tail teamwork of ours!"

"Yea…" Lucy was lost in her own world away from Natsu's nonsense. "Maybe she will be…"

While Natsu daydreamed about bating Olivia and claiming victory over the Akala Grand Trial, Lucy was back tracking to her last conversation with Lillie just before they left the Dimensional Research Lab.

 _~Flashback to the Lab_

 _"You want to know what happened three months ago? Well, I'd wanted to learn more about Nebby... I mean, about Cosmog. So I decided to come speak to Professor Burnet. But I got lost along the way...and ended up wandering about until I collapsed on the shore..."_

 _"_ _Oh no!" Lucy knew Lillie was only a video game character, but the amount of detail put into her background story still left her intrigued none the less. "What did you do? Where did you go next?"_

 _Lillie turned to look back at Professor Burnet. "She listened to my story, staying up all night to hear it all. And then she even got her husband, Professor Kukui, to lend me his loft to stay in... And she told him to help me investigate Nebby's origins, too. Professor Burnet has been so kind, and she's still helping me try to find a way to get Nebby back to its own home..."_

 _"_ _That's so amazing." Lucy said with sincere emotion. "I'm glad you were able to find friends to help you out in a time of need."_

 _Lillie slowly nodded again, and felt her insides growing warmer. "She's been like...like a real mother to me. I still have some things I want to talk to Professor Burnet about, so I'll stay here."_

 _~Back to the present_

"Urgh!" Lucy was slightly frustrated with leaving Lillie behind. "I wanted to stay there and learn more about the game!"

"Lucy." Natsu tried reasoning with her. "We know where it is. We can beat all the trials, and come back to it as a last resort if we need to."

"Yea…you're right Natsu." To be quite honest, Lucy never found herself admitting those words very often. Ever since her recent loss to the Lurantis in the Lush Jungle, Lucy had been very on-edge about the rest of the game. This Dimensional Research Lab was something she never had access to in the last games, so it only served to peek her interest. Now she found herself on the losing end of a logical argument with Natsu of all people.

Sure, Natsu was only being fueled forward by the desire to win, but he was at least taking them in the right direction. In the end, she was angrier at herself, and thankful he was there to help keep her on the right path.

"Man." She finally admitted as they rounded the bottom of a large rocky hill. "These Pokémon games really leave a weird feeling in my brain. I'm surprised I've made it to my third one."

"Ha!" Nastu laughed at that. "Don't be stupid, Lucy! You're a total champ at these things! We'll win these trials, and if we can find Nigel he can show us more of them once we get back to…!"

"Team Skull! Give back that Pokémon!

Lucy and Natsu heard a very official voice shouting over the bend, and ran around the corner to find several ridiculous characters standing there in a confrontation debating over the property of a confused Slowpoke.

The most ridiculous person by far wore large green glasses with lenses shaped like beans, and also had on a long and professional white cloak with an elegant collar. His thinning blonde hair was his primary sign of age, along with his proper dialect. "Stand firm! Think of what the president would say!"

His aid, who looked to be wearing all white work clothes with matching hat and gloves, spoke her mind. "That's what you say, Chief! But you don't lift a finger!"

The Chief guffawed. "Why, I am the _Aether Foundation's_ last line of defense! What would become of the foundation if something were to happen to me now?"

"Yo!" A Team Skull grunt showed off his usual goofy dance moves. "The geezer is tryin' ta back out! We gotta take it now, boss!"

"Shut it." Said the second most peculiar looking trainer in the bunch. She had long pink and yellow hair braided into four oddly thin ponytails. She also wore a slightly revealing thug outfit of all black, which revealed a pink Team Skull tattoo on her stomach.

"What's this?" Natsu put his fists together. "We got some guild wannabee or something?"

"Natsu." Lucy stood back a bit. "Let's be careful here."

The Chief ignored the Team Skull admin and turned to find the two heroes Fairies standing there in awe. "Ah! Here are some promising young Trainers! Fight in my stead, young ones, and rout these Team Skull ruffians. I will bestow honor upon you, if you do!"

"Who is this guy?!" Lucy asked herself out loud. "Does he think he can just bribe us like some thugs-for-hire to solve his own…?!"

"OH YOU GOT IT PAL!" Natsu was letting his inner, selfless Fairy show as he ran forward and grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt. "These clowns are gonna wish they never met us back on Island 1!"

Lucy face-palmed and watched Natsu plow forward to challenge the two off Team Grunt Skulls. "I guess it's no different than someone hiring us at the guild hall…hmm?"

She turned, and jumped as the Skull Admin glared at her with two crossing arms. The to others who claimed to be from something called the 'Aether Foundation' watched with alert expressions as Lucy stepped up to put on a show, but before the action got underway, the strange woman spoke up.

"So, you're the one Gladion was talking about? ...Hmph. You don't look like anything special to me." She seemed to be a very nasty person, but Lucy was at least thankful for her composed attitude.

The snappy blonde spoke back. "Yea? Well I'm not very impressed with what I'm looking at, either."

The Admin closed her eyes, which prevented her from getting any angrier with the veteran trainer. "I'm Plumeria. I help keep Team Skull together. I'm like a big sister to all these numskulls. You have realized what idiots all these guys are, right?"

"It's kind of hard to miss…" She looked over at Natsu and the two grunts shouting off nonsense as they battled it out.

Plumeria noticed Natsu was just as reckless, and realized he had to be Lucy's traveling companion. "But don't you think some dummies are cute in their dumbness? You know what I mean, right? You picking on my cute, dumb brothers and sisters is really annoying me!"

Lucy wanted to smack Plumeria up side of the head for implying that she fancied Natsu, but ignored it for the time being. "Well I'm sorry, but Natsu and I have been doing it for a while now…they must not be very important if it took you this long to notice."

The two female trainers glared it out for a small moment in time, and just then they released their champions.

 _"_ _Golbat."_

 _"_ _Aquarius!"_

The two Pokémon came out, but Aquarius had to lower her head to narrowly miss a swift _Air Cutter_ attack right from the gate. She slid across the field, and shot out a menacing _Aqua Jet_ right for the stomach of the significantly weaker Golbat, which shot the Poison/Flying-type out of the air and sent him back to his master.

Plumeria nodded, and then sent out her other Pokémon. _"Salandit."_

The small black salamander Pokémon from Wela Volcano Park took its stance on the field, and right away Lucy caught the trick. "Okay, you're a poison-type trainer…I remember fighting these things back at that volcano!"

She then smiled for her enemy and commanded her spirit to act. "Which is why I already know it's weaknesses! Aquarius, use another _Aqua Jet!"_

"I'm already on it, you dumb bimbo!" Aquarius tried ruining Lucy's moment by taking matters into her own hand, and fainted the Fire/Poison lizard in one easy shot. The battle ended there, and just as Lucy cheered to collect Aquarius, Plumeria nodded and sighed.

"Phooey."

After being defeated, however, Plumeria had just a little more to say than that. "Hmmph! You're pretty strong. I'll give you that… But mess with anyone in Team Skull again, and I'll show you how serious I can get."

Lucy watched Natsu scare the other grunts off out of the corner of her eye, but then glanced back toward Plumeria. "Hey, it's their fault…after all they were the ones who messed with Fairy Tail first."

She and Natsu waited for Plumeria to leave, and soon after Lucy let out a large sigh of relief. "Phew! I can't keep that tough-girl act up all the time…I'm not sure how Erza does it."

Natsu wanted to comment, but was quickly interrupted by the worker for the Aether Foundation "He thanks!"

"Yes, indeed." The Chief nodded in agreement. "You two are trial-goers, aren't you? You are both splendid Trainers."

"Heh!" Natsu gestured to himself. "Don't mention it! We're pros at this game!"

The Chief nodded with forced delight. "I am deeply impressed! I'd like to reward you by showing you something truly astounding. Once you have finished your grand trial, come to _Hano Grand Resort_ and I will take you to see a wondrous place."

He and the kind Aether worker walked past the two Fairies, and right then Natsu turned to Lucy. "What do ya think he means by 'wondrous place'?"

"I'm not sure…" Lucy was too busy looking at the outfit from the lowly Aether Foundation worker. She had some suspicion about these Aether people, but she was not sure why…

Now Natsu and Lucy had made it all the way past the Memorial Hill and onto the Akala Outskirts. Here, they came across the entrance to what looked like a very important cave denoted by pale pink wooden beams. It was labeled as the Ruins of Life, and already Lucy Heartfilia denoted a very significant detail.

"Hey!" She smiled faintly. "This looks like that cave I met Lillie at…or at least the one we were going to meet if the rope bridge didn't break."

"Lucy! Natsu!"

The two players turned to find yet another pair of significant faces walking up the hill, and just then Professor Burnet spotted our Fairies at the entrance of the Ruins of Life.

With her was the lowly face of an embarrassed Lillie, who let the professor explain their situation as they finally made it over. "Lillie got lost again, so I brought her here to you. She couldn't even find her way to the Tide Song Hotel on her own!"

Burnet meant it as a joke, but Lillie lowered her head even more as the Professor carried on. "She said she saw Team Skull and tried to avoid them. That's why she got lost. Now I've gotta go. The _Masked Royal_ has a match, and there's no way I'm missing it! That Masked Royal...What do you think he looks like under that mask, anyway?"

"Uh Lady…" Natsu spoke up, but Lucy saw Burnet snickering into her hand as she walked off and turned to Natsu.

"Eh I think she gets it…" Lucy then gave Lillie a sympathetic smile. "Hey you! Glad to see you made it out to the Ruins!"

Lillie nodded with a stern expression. "I came here for Nebby. Though... as you saw, I didn't come here myself so much as I was brought here with the professor's help..."

Lucy wanted to continue comforting her, but Lillie noticed a flashing light over the player/trainer's head. "Oh! Look at poor Aquarius. Let me heal her for you, won't you?"

"That's so nice of you!" Lucy cooed. "You don't have to do that!"

Lillie insisted, and nodded her head. "Within these ruins waits the guardian deity of Akala Island... This is _Tapu Lele's_ ruin." She then turned down to face the ornery Pokémon, Nebby. "You! I know you tried to drag me along to the Ruins of Conflict on Melemele Island, too...Why are these ruins important to you? What do the guardians mean to you? Just think what would have happened to you if Lucy hadn't been there back then..."

"Oh, haven't I seen you with Kukui?"

Everyone paused, and turned to face the entrance of the ruins as the strong but elegant Olivia emerged with a sly grin. She walked over, but kept her words directed at Lillie.

"Oh! Yes, my name is Lillie. I work as Professor Kukui's assistant. And this is Lucy, and Natsu."

"Oh!" Olivia laughed. "Sorry, I never even asked your names before, did I? Tapu Lele summoned me here to clean up the ruins." She gave Lillie a nod, but now turned to face the two trainers from Magnolia. "Lucy and Natsu...thanks for getting to know the people and Pokémon of Alola."

Lucy kindly nodded, but Natsu put an arm out in front of his partner. "Hold on! Let's drop the nice crap for a little bit… we've gotta trial to finish here."

Olivia silently agreed, and gestured for Lillie to stand off to the side. As per the custom set by Kahuna Hala on Melemele Island, Olivia was challenging Natsu and Lucy as a team of two, not one. "All right, then! You two have completed the trials of all three captains here on Akala Island. Now you face the grand trial of the kahuna—me! Get ready for your hardest Pokémon battle yet on Akala!"

"You're on!" Lucy prepped herself with a Poké Ball in hand.

Natsu agreed, and mimicked her action. "I'm all fired up now!"

"Great!" Olivia admitted with an open smile. "You each get three Pokémon, and three Pokémon only… _Two v Two!_ We're gonna give you guys everything we've got! …And my partners are all adorable, rugged little _Rock_ types!"

"Glad ta hear it!" Natsu firmly admitted. "GO _HAPPY JR.!_ "

"Go _Capricorn!_ " Lucy knew she had two Super Effective Pokémon at her disposal, so she tried saving her ace in the hole for a last resort.

Olivia nodded, and tossed out two Poké Balls of her own. "Go, _Nosepass! Boldore!_ "

The four Pokémon took their places. Happy Jr. made the first move by shooting a weak _Ember_ attack at the Nosepass, which did little to no damage due to the obvious typing disadvantage. Capricorn was next, and sent out a powerful current of _Razor Leaves_ , but the Boldore he targeted held the Sturdy ability, which kept it alive for one extra turn.

Boldore then combated the opponents with a slow but powerful _Rock Blast_ aimed right for the obvious Happy Jr. The small Torrecat tanked the first powerful boulder, which brought him into the low green, but after quickly realizing that three more hurling rocks were due to land on his face, the small cat finally accepted the loss of health and the end of his battle.

"WHAT!?" Natsu shrieked. "That's total bull crap! Are rock Pokémon super effective against Fire types now also!?"

"YES, NATSU!" Lucy snapped back. "That's what I was trying to tell you on the way in here! Ugh, don't worry, all you have to do is wait for Capricorn's turn and we'll…"

Nosepass ended Lucy's train of thoughts as it shot out a cheeky Thunder Wave and quickly paralyzed her prize Zodiac spirit, leaving Capricorn to flicker about in a wave of paralytic pain.

"Oh no!" She shouted back. "This is really bad!"

Olivia agreed, but turned to face Natsu instead. "All right, fire boy. Let's see what else you have."

"Grr…" Natsu spoke under his breath. "Oh I'll show you what I've got you little… GO LIL' IGNEEL!"

"YOU MORON!" Lucy shouted again. "You're supposed to save your strongest Pokémon for last!"

Natsu thought about that for a moment, and then realized Boldore had the right-of-way to attack now that Capricorn was incapacitated. The Rock-type champion sent out a powerful Mud Slap, which did little damage to Bagon, but did happen to lower his accuracy in the process.

Bagon shot back with a mighty _Dragon Claw_ , which while it did leave a significant scar on Nosepass, the move would have fainted Boldore with 1-Hp left.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked as she was now worried. "You're acting like I did vs Lurantis!"

"Grrr…" He was starting to get frustrated with her questions. "I'm fine, Lucy. Go ahead and cure Capricorn."

"…" Lucy stepped back a bit to really collect his attitude, but before she could react to his request, Nosepass took its turn by slamming a large amount of rocky force onto the head of tiny Bagon, which dealt 75 base damage and fainted his Dragon type Pokémon rather quicker than expected.

"AGH!" Natsu yelled out with fire and rage. "GO _GROWLITHE!_ BURN THESE GUYS TO A CRISP!"

He was done with pet nicknames for now, and sent his fire-type dog Growlie onto the field. Natsu now commanded the best speed of the group, and as Capricorn missed his attack due to paralysis, Growlithe made his move.

It shot out a powerful _Flame Burst_ attack right for Boldore, which had no chance of blocking the move, and fainted from one hit. Olivia nodded, and applauded Natsu on his choice silently. She then grabbed her final Pokémon, and threw him onto the field.

"Okay, you get to see the kahuna's _real_ power now…Go _Lycanroc!_ "

Lucy and Natsu collected the opponent's field, and saw a terrifying wolf Pokémon with red and white fur take its stance. It had two sinister eyes, and swung its large black claws back and forth waiting to attack. Lycanroc had higher speed than Natsu's Growlithe, and even more than Lucy's paralyzed Gogoat. It charged up its claws, and dealt significant damage to Natsu's remaining Pokémon with a quick and deadly rock to the face.

"Lycanroc used _Rock Throw!_ It's Super Effective!"

Rock throw usually only had 50 base power, but Natsu's Growlithe was a Fire-type, and a rookie Pokémon. It took the hit right in the face, and slid back in defeat as the now furious Natsu slammed his fist into the ground.

"AGHH!" He yelled out with vengeful anger. "LUCY! TAKE THIS WOMAN DOWN!"

"…" Lucy was silent once again as she watched Natsu let off endless rage from letting Olivia get under her skin. She had the fight all to herself now, but that sounded nicer than it really was.

She recently lost her first fight to the grass trial in the Lush Jungle, and also realized Natsu lost his first time to the Water Trial on Brooklet Hill. Here and now, Lucy was starting to realize that this Pokémon game was nothing like the previous editions.

The veteran trainer thought fast, and healed Capricorn from his status ailment to level the playing field. Right then, Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Well, Natsu mostly uses Fire-types…but I can't get a read on you, Lucy. I heard you all are from some club called 'Fairy Tail?' I half expected one of you to use Fairy-types."

Lucy stood tall and firm. "Well, maybe I don't use a single type. I like a well-balanced team over anything."

Olivia found that funny, and gave her a small clap. "You're pretty sharp…let's see what you've got, Lucy!"

The Kahuna tapped her Z-Move ring at the same speed Lucy tapped hers. Both Lycanroc and Capricorn charged up with Z-Power aura, and both readied for an attack.

However, despite Lucy's typing advantage, it was Lycanroc that held the higher speed. Olivia performed a unique Z-Move dance, and sent her champion Pokémon to deal out its deadly attack— ** _Continental Crush!_**

Lucy's jaw dropped as Lycanroc summoned a huge rock mountain out of nowhere, and used its Z-Power to drop it onto the target Capricorn's body with full force. Capricorn felt his back break under the enormous pressure of the rock, and watched his low defense and Lycanroc's high attack stats combat in one move, which ended his fight and left Lucy down with just two Pokémon.

"Hmm…" Lucy felt nerves rocking her core, but knew she still had the upper hand as Olivia, Natsu, and now Lillie looked at her with waited anticipation. She collected her fallen Capricorn, and sent out her next and supposedly final Pokémon.

"All right, kahuna! I'll show you the real power of a Celestial Spirit Trainer! Open: Gate of the Water Bearer! _AQUARIUS!_ "

Olivia had no idea what Lucy was going on about, but cracked a smile a blinding light took her side of the field. Natsu was also lost in confusion because that was Lucy's first time using that specific call out for Aquarius. However, he soon realized why she did it the moment the mermaid of the Zodiac landed on the field.

It must have happened shortly after her battle with Plumeria, because now Aquarius was sporting a brand new, _fully evolved_ body. This new form resembled a cross between a sea lion and a mermaid. Most of her body is white, but she also had a long, fish-like tail just like her real form in the regular world. However, Aquarius now sported a long snout with a round, pink nose, bright blue eyes with long white eyelashes, and long light blue hair trailing off the back of her head.

Here name was _Primarina_. A tiara-like structure rests on her forehead, consisting of a line of pearls with a pink sea star at one corner and a thin, transparent blue fin extending back over her hair. Aquarius flaunted her new beauty with grace as she waited for the light to disappear and give her control over the battle.

"Well, don't I look great." She snickered. "I could do without the stupid dog face…but this will do a lot better than those other two forms."

"Hey Aquarius!" Lucy cheered. "You evolved!"

"No duh!" Aquarius had no idea what Lucy meant, but she mocked her nonetheless. "Now, let's end this stupid battle and move on to the next island."

Aquarius channeled newly acquired Z-Power after Lucy performed a signature dance from the slopes of Brooklet Hill. The Water Bearer created a huge whirling current using her aquatic Z-Power, and swallowed her opposing target with the full force of her signature _Water Pillar_ spell.

Lycanroc landed from the torrent of **_Hydro Vortex_** with spiral red eyes, and felt its health totally fall to 0. Natsu blinked several times, and then jumped up to congratulate his partner. "Hey, nice goin' Lucy! Ya beat the trial without me!"

"No problem, Natsu. "She smiled, but then closed her eyes. "Now, can we please work on that temper of yours?"

Olivia called the fight after suffering her defeat, and walked forward with two clapping hands. "How lovely. Diamonds only sparkle after coal is pushed to its absolute limit."

She then gave Natsu and Lucy a comfortable, friendly smile. "You guys are the best! Here. The Rock-type Z-Crystal... The Rockium Z is all yours! The Rock-type Z-Power...you have to move like this to draw it out! Watch carefully, because the hip movement is crucial!"

Olivia crossed her arms, threw them out in front of her face, and then separated her arms and legs into a 'strong man' position as she lunged to one side of her body. She froze the positon to let her new students study it, and returned to her standing posture.

"Use it well. The Rock type... It's hard. Sturdy. Rugged and physically strong. So nothing like me at all! I guess opposites really do attract." Olivia laughed at herself and turned to the now shocked Lillie standing off to the side. "By the way, Lillie, this might be a weird question, but... Why even come to the Ruins of Life if you're not a Trainer?"

"Oh, because of Nebby…" Lillie admitted. "It's not originally from here, and I wanted to help it get back to its home…"

Olivia gently smiled and looked the peculiar Pokémon, Nebby, over. "You certainly don't see Pokémon like _that_ every day. Tapu Lele may be called the guardian deity of our island, but it can also run wild at times. Regular Pokémon normally avoid the guardians at all costs... Unless they are strong enough to face the tapu themselves, that is."

She thought about her own words for a moment, and then corrected herself. "Wait, that can't be right...I think your journey will hold many surprises. And I hope it holds many joys. I'll take you back to town, Lillie. You're doing everything you can for your partner, even though you're not a Trainer. I like that kind of person, so I can't help but give you a hand!"

Natsu and Lucy agreed with Lillie, and while all three turned to follow the kahuna out toward the Akala Outskirts, the familiar face of Hau ran up the hill waving and smiling back at them.

"Aue! You're Kahuna Olivia! I'm Hau from Iki Town! You've gotta let me battle you!" The young male trainer then turned to face Natsu and Lucy. "Oh, hey, Fairies! Guess what? This weird green guy from Aether told me to come to Hano Grand Resort once I finished up with my grand trial here on Akala. Crazy, right?"

"Ooh, the Aether Foundation?" Olivia leaned back and put a finger on her chin. "I'm not sure what he wants with you all, but why not go find out? If you don't want to keep him waiting, then Charizard should get you there in no time. The Hano Grand Resort lies just over the bridge near the Dimensional Research Lab."

"Th…The Aether Foundation… ?" Lillie blurted out over the rest of the group, and now that she had their attention, the timid blonde girl sunk back down with a sorry expression. "U-um, I think I'll stay here. I'd like to see how Hau's battle goes too. Even though I hate seeing Pokémon get hurt…"

"Yea? No kidding!" Lucy was worried from witnessing Lillie's expression just now. "Do you know something about them!?"

Lillie shook her head with sorrow, and continued. "But I know that all of your Pokémon are dedicated to battle beside you, Natsu and Lucy."

Natsu nodded with a fiery smile, but Lucy was still concerned with how Lillie reacted just now. She knew something the rest of them did not, which left the Celestial Trainer troubled as Natsu drew out his Charizard from the sky, and escorted her back to Hea Hea City to see the Hano Grand Resort. Lucy felt like this would be an interesting group for sure, and was sure to keep her mind about her when meeting the Aether Foundation people first hand.

* * *

 **Okay so the duo is 2-0 on Grand Trials, but Natsu got knocked out, which left Lucy on her own...man, these Alolan trainers do not mess around!**

 **Well, we're off for the weekend again. I'll get the next one out sometime this Monday. For any readers coming out of the Southeastern United States, please stay safe, and good luck with the inclement weather coming from this Hurricane Season!**


	17. 16: The Aether Paradise

**Author's Note: Welcome back! I've got a good one for you on this Monday morning! Please, enjoy!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen - The Aether Paradise

* * *

"So, you've come at last."

Lucy and Natsu greeted the same elder Chief from the Aether Foundation that they met back in the Akala Outskirts. He still wore his green glasses and white lab coat, and gave the two Fairies a measured look before carrying on.

"Ah. But forgive me. I have yet to introduce myself. You may call me _Faba._ I told you before that I would show you someplace astounding, right? Well, that wondrous place is... _Aether Paradise!_ "

"So we've heard." Lucy wanted to appear non-threatening, but she and Natsu both gave Faba passive glares as they let him explain his intentions.

Faba never noticed their suspicions and continued. "Let me tell you about Aether Paradise. Just as the name suggests, Aether Paradise is a veritable paradise for Pokémon that floats far out in the sea surrounding Alola. It is an artificial island, made entirely by human technology, for the protecting of Pokémon! Of course I'm an adult who keeps his promises. So I will prove to you that all I've told you is the absolute truth with a tour of Aether Paradise. You will come, won't you?!"

Both Fairies stood silent without an answer, but then Natsu busted open with laughter as tears ran down from his eyes.

"OH I GET IT NOW, BAHAHAHA! HIS NAME'S FABA BECAUSE HE HAS BEAN-SHAPED GLASSES HAHAHAHA! GOD, WHAT A STUPID NAME!"

Faba and Lucy both felt their eyes twitch with rage, but for completely different reasons. Lucy had to re-take the scene in order to get her group to the next island, so she gave the luxurious man an answer.

"Well, you have our interest." Lucy admitted as she continued speaking for her party. "Sure, we'll go with you to see the Aether Paradise."

"Good, good. Then you'll come with me. Aether Paradise will amaze you." Faba rejoiced, and followed his celebration by gesturing toward the hotel lobby entrance. "Oh? Even Kahuna Olivia has come to see you off?"

Lucy and Natsu turned to find Olivia, the Kahuna they just defeated for the Grand Trial, along with Professor Kukui and young Hau joining them inside the lobby of the luxurious hotel.

"Wait! Take me, too!" Hau tried catching the Fairy Tail wizards before they departed for the island, and to his luck he made it just in time.

Olivia heard what Faba said, and crossed her arms with a smug grin. "As a kahuna, I look after all the trial-goers who come to my island. They're like my own children. Not that I've got any—I've never even gotten married. Listen up, Fairy Tail Wizards, and Hau. Your greatest opponent is always yourself. Your greatest allies, the Pokémon beside you."

"Geeze." Natsu chuckled into Lucy's ear. "Is it just me, or is she takin' a page outta Gramp's book?"

Lucy laughed at the connection, which gave Hau more time to speak up. "Thanks! Are you coming, too, Professor?"

Kukui firmly shook his head, but gave them all a comforting smile. "I've got my own business to attend to. You go see all the amazing tech that Aether's developing and tell me about it later, yeah? That's right. I'll see you on the next island... _Ula'ula Island_ , yeah? Then let's meet up at Malie Garden!"

"Malie Garden…" Lucy wrote a mental note and nudged Natsu on the arm. "Ula'ula Island is the third Island in the region, Natsu! We're one step closer to finding Nigel!"

"Glad to hear it!" He replied. "So what are we waitin' for?! Let's follow the ol' Kidney Bean here ta the Aether place!"

Hau had to laugh at that joke, and nodded with support. "Yup! It's good-bye, Akala Island! Though I guess we can come back anytime we want to, huh?"

Faba was starting to wear thin with Natsu's joking around, but bit his tongue to escort the young trainers out the door. "Then let us enjoy an adventure upon that grand vessel that will take us across the high seas! By which I mean to say, the ferry."

"WAIT, WHAT!?" Natsu grabbed a large pillar that supported the lobby ceiling, while Lucy tugged on his waist to get him to move. "BUT I HAVE _CHARIZARD_ TO FLY ME!"

"URGH!" Lucy pulled as tight as she could. "COME ON, NATSU! WE HAVE TO GO, NOW!"

"Oh?" Faba walked with Hau out the door, but turned back to smirk at Natsu's peril. "An issue with sailing?"

"Ghrrr!" Lucy shouted back. "No, just a stupid nonsense with motion sickness!"

"Ahoho." Faba covered his grin. "Well, I'll tell my captain to ride extra smoothly on our voyage out at sea. It is night time, and the waters may be rough…so I can't make any promises."

* * *

Natsu barely survived the painful ride over from Akala Island as he, Lucy, Hau, and Faba arrived at the Aether Docks, and finally laid eyes on the artificial safe haven that is the Aether Paradise.

"Here we are, you three. This is Aether Paradise." Faba appeared to be so proud of the institution, it almost seemed like he was the one who built the structure all by himself. "Aether Paradise is a facility created for the conservation of Pokémon. It has been outfitted with all of the latest technology for this purpose. Downstairs, our teams work on developing new Poké Balls and more. Yes, all for the sake of Pokémon conservation."

He then turned to face the visitors as a triangular elevator lowered from the ceiling of the dock room, and landed in its perch. "Though you will not be able to use any of your Poké Balls within Aether Paradise. A jamming signal is broadcast throughout the facility to prevent them from functioning."

"Excuse me, Mr. Faba..."

Just then, the man known as Faba was caught off guard as a woman with large purple hair and a pink and white Aether dress wondered off the triangular platform and over to his area. She gave the man a bow but also received a scornful expression from the chief at the same moment.

"Yes, excuse you!" He snapped at the poor woman. "What is the meaning of that form of address? I have a title for a reason! How else will anyone know how important I am?"

The woman continued to smile, but shook her head graciously, as if she was used to it by now. "Yes... Branch Manager Faba..."

"Geeze…" Lucy whispered into Natsu's ear this time. "You may want to keep up the bean jokes. This guy's a total jerk!"

Branch Manager Faba turned without hearing her and stood alone on the platform. "Now, I must go speak with the president about our conservation efforts on Akala... Show these children around, and then take them to meet the president as well."

Faba and the central elevator rose through the ceiling, and left the new woman alone with the three visitors. She took a great sigh of relief the moment Faba left the room.

"Phew...Welcome to Aether Paradise, Natsu, Lucy, and Hau. My name is _Wicke._ "

"Finally, a normal face!" Lucy was relieved as well. "Hello! I'm Lucy, and this one here is Natsu!"

"Sup!" Natsu cheered with his greeting.

Hau on the other hand held suspicion. "Wait? You know who we are? How'd you know that?!"

Wicke gave Hau a sincere nod. "One of our employees told me about your meeting on Akala Island. And of course, I heard how you helped protect the Pokémon there, too, young Mr. Hau. Thank you very much! Let me show you around. The main entrance is up above us." She waited for them to join her before pressing the button. "Shall we zip right up there?"

Wicke led the three visitors up to the main floor of the Paradise. She showed off dozens of new frolicking Pokémon all wondering around the base with smiles and cheer. The building secretary then turned to address her guests further. "This is the main entrance. You can have your Pokémon taken care of at the reception desk there, if they need it."

She then studied her guests even closer. Natsu and Lucy? The two of you and Hau are both trial-goers, aren't you? Are you hoping to become champions?"

"Oh you bet!" Natsu yelled out. "We're already champions in a different region, but we're lookin' to take the gold here in Alola too!"

Wicke nodded. "I suppose... Hau, you must be around 11, then?"

"Yeah, I took the first chance I had to join in the island challenge once I turned 11!" Hau looked delightfully determined to share his story with Wicke. "'Cause, someday, I really want to be able to beat my gramps...but he's way too strong!"

"How...how lovely for you." Wicke sighed. "I suppose all children must yearn to take a journey of their own choosing when they get to be about your age. Though you're hardly just children anymore. Trainers are like parents to their Pokémon! Which reminds me…" She gave the two Fairies her main attention now. "They two of you look much older than 11…you must be in your early twenties? And still in the trials?"

"Ahehehe…" Lucy waved that away. "Yea, we're older than eleven, but…eh, it's kind of a long story that I'm worried would bore you."

Wicke laughed softly into her hand and turned back to the elevator controls. "Well, would you three like to see the conservation area upstairs? We'll zip right up!"

Wicke now showed them the conservation room on the upper-most floor of the Aether Paradise building. The entire roof area of the conservation chamber teamed with Pokémon life, along with lush island vegetation, and trickling streams of water that looked pleasant even by human living standards.

"Wow!" Lucy, Natsu, and Hau all three ran in three different directions as they looked around the tall building. Flying Pokémon soared around the tall glass rooftop, and adventurous water Pokémon swam around in the watery currents that flowed below their very feet.

Wicke observed their wonder, and continued explaining the goal of her organization and its followers. "We keep Pokémon that have been targeted by Team Skull here... And we also try to support Pokémon that need a little extra protection. Like Corsola, for example. They are quite terribly overhunted by a Pokémon called Toxapex."

Wicke pointed down to an adorable see creature Pokémon standing on a lone rock, and let the others follow her line of sight before carrying on. "I hope you don't mind if I read a passage from my Pokédex."

"Oh here!" Happy sprung out of Natsu's pocket, and took the reins away from the expert Wicke. "Toxapex... Toxapex crawls along the ocean floor on its 12 legs. It leaves a trail of Corsola bits scattered in its wake…WHA-!? What kinda sick entry is that!?"

"No kidding!" Natsu fully agreed. "We gotta save more of those little guys when we get the chance, okay Lucy?"

"I guess…" Lucy's hand was smashing into her face ever since Happy soared out of Natsu's pocket and startled the very confused Wicke, and the very amused Hau for his Pokédex speech.

"Yeah." Hau admitted. "My gramps is always saying that nature's got its cruel side, sure as it gives us blessings. That's pretty amazing, though! The Aether Foundation seems awesome. But why'd you bother setting up a branch in a place like Alola?!"

Wicke firmly nodded, but returned to his question. "I couldn't say... It's hard to know for sure what our president is thinking sometimes."

She shook away a troubled expression to gesture toward the different pathways leading around the grounds. "If you'd like to meet _President Lusamine_ , she should be here in the conservation area now."

Lucy, Natsu, and Hau all separated into three different pathways. Natsu got far too distracted by a pair of roaming Growlithes to the south that he ended his search pretty early. Lucy tried having more faith in Hau, but a new group of Pikachus brought in recently to the conservation area stole his attention just like his friend and rival before him.

"Ugh!" Lucy let out an angry sigh and stormed though the path ways on her own. Everything appeared to be clean and white, apart from the natural remake below. It left her feeling odd, almost confused for a moment. "Why are they trying to cram so many Pokémon up here? Surely the rest of their building can house the rest of these little guys."

She continued wondering around the north end of the conservation deck, until the sight of a slender but beautiful woman talking to another employee and several new Pokémon stopped the wizard dead in her tracks.

"My sweet Pokémon..." The woman spoke with soft delight. "I promise I'll keep you safe... I'll protect you with my love..."

Lucy was trying to figure out how the poor woman could hold up her ridiculous blonde hair. She had a rather thin frame, but elegant white cloths embroidered with black and gold trim, and a shining jade gemstone centering the upper half of her blouse.

"Ah..." The elegant woman turned to find the blonde trainer walking in her direction. "You must be Lucy. I imagine Natsu and Hau are here too. Welcome to Aether Paradise. The Aether Foundation's own private island."

Lucy stood completely still with total discomfort as Hau and now Natsu ran from behind her and into the same area. She was lost in the woman's brightly pale skin, and glowing green eyes. Natsu looked to see Lucy's frightful expression and stood in a slightly defensive stance, while Hau provided the woman with a great big smile.

The Aether admin carried on with her introduction. "I am the president of the foundation. But please, just call me _Lusamine_. I'm so glad that we got to meet. I'm glad there are people like you, who travel the islands to learn more about Pokémon... But there are also those unfortunate people who harm Pokémon for their own selfish reasons or even for profit."

The tall and very elegant President spread her arms out wide, as if trying to give the world a calm and gentle hug with her tender, motherly hands. "And that is why I am here. I will be like a mother to all of those poor Pokémon and shower them with love. Even Pokémon from distant worlds, far from the Alola region, are worthy of my love."

Lucy narrowed her vision, but regained some of her comfort as Natsu calmed down beside her.

Hau put his hands behind his head, and replied first. "Wow, Miss Lusamine! I don't know how you do all this! You're, like, not even that much older than us!"

"What!?" Natsu shouted. "Oh come on, she's gotta be older than that!"

"Oh, you sweet boy!" Lusamine concealed a sweet giggle. "I'm already over 40!"

"You are?" Hau blinked for a moment, and then stepped back with an alert expression. "Wait, WHAT?!"

"Oh, you!" Lusamine glistened with delight. "The right style does wonders, you know. And, Hau, your style is a bit wanting, hm? I'll have to take you out sometime and help you pick a smashing outfit."

"L-like what you wear?" Hau rapidly shook his head. "I don't think anyone else could pull off that kind of look! Except maybe Lillie..."

Lusamine sighed, and shifted her weight over to one hip. "Oh, don't you worry. You just leave everything up to me. Trust me—children would all be much happier if they'd only listen to the adults around them."

She felt a sharp glare coming from Lucy's eyes after that phrase, and put a hand underneath her white chin. "You my dear. Do I frighten you? I'm merely a humble president to our small organization. I mean no harm or ill will."

"…" Lucy had remained very quiet around most of the Aether Foundation members. She received a good vibe from Wicke earlier on, but this Lusamine character…her eyes were far too green for a regular person. What was she hiding behind them…?"

Natsu chuckled and waved it away. "Psh! Eh don't worry about Lucy, she's cool! Just a little tired from all the battlin' ya know?"

"Mhmm." Lusamine agreed. "And the young Fire Trainer, Natsu…the _Dragon's Son_ , I hear? Tell me, do you…?"

Lusamine went to enquire Natsu further, but suddenly the room began to shake, and the rooftop conservation deck rattled around in a panicked state of frenzy. The employees and all their Pokemon stopped playing for just a brief moment, and Miss Wicke stepped up from behind the president to look up at the glass ceiling.

"That tremor… Did something happen on the lower floors?"

Then, a small vacuum of sound silenced the room, and out from the south end of the platform, a large, virtual hole sprung out from reality, and opened a white corridor to an unknown world. Lusamine, Wicke, and Hau all stood with shock and confusion, and even Natsu held a face of disbelief.

However, the sharp mind of Lucy Heartfilia reacted just in time, and she of all people stepped up to confront the mirage. "Wait! Natsu, that looks just like the portal we used to get trapped in the game!"

"Yea!" Natsu finally began recognizing the shape and style of the vortex. "It's just like the one floatin' in Nigel's basement too! I wonder if those things are related?"

Lucy pondered that thought, and hoped for a small second that Nigel Thomas would fall out the other end and land right in front of them unharmed, but just as her thought grew stronger, a flash of pure light broke from the opening in the vortex, and it emerged.

The beast resembled a flying jellyfish. It was mostly white with transparent tentacles shaped like the hair, dress, and legs of a girl. The top of its head was a bell that resembled the large brim of a hat. The bell was transparent, save for six pointed stars around the crown, and the brim held a glossy blue edge.

Just as everyone stepped closer to gain a better view of the mysterious creature, the ends of the outer-most tentacles sprang out, resembling arms, and the outer tentacles of the "dress" revealed to have two larger bubbles inside.

"Did you come... from another world?" Lusamine stepped even closer, and gently held her pure white hand to touch the edge of the creature. "You poor creature..."

"Miss Lusamine, stand back!" Hau shouted at his new acquaintance. "That thing's...not right!"

"He's right!" Lucy agreed. "We need to evacuate the top floor immediately! Natsu! Can you distract that thing? We've gotta get everyone else out of here...!"

"Already on it, Lucy!" Natsu whirled his arm around in a big circle to prep his throwing hand for battle. "Okay, ugly! It's you and me in a show down! I HOPE YOU LIKE _FIRE!_ "

Natsu tossed Happy Jr. out to the battlefield, and soon after, the quick and ready Torrecat landed on the battlefield.

"Brr-rrr-rrr!" The peculiar creature shot its external tentacles outward, and tried warding off anyone attempting to attack its body. To make matters worse, its name was "?", its typing was unlisted, and its aura flashed bright red, raising its defense sharply for the battle.

"Natsu!" Happy logged through his entries to try and find any clue on the enemy. "I don't know what that thing is! It's not in the Pokédex!"

"Who cares!" He yelled back. "I'll burn it one way or another! Happy Jr., use _FIRE FANG!"_

The determined Torrecat lunged forward, and clamped down on the odd jellyfish with hard fangs of fire. Its tentacles were harder than expected, and the fire did virtually no damage to its health bar or stats.

"Ah great…well it's a jellyfish, so maybe it's a water type? I dunno…"

Torrecat charge forward, and ignored Natsu's original call for fire. He instead chose to use a newly acquired _Brick Break_ out of a TM Natsu received back in Verdant Cavern. The small tiger clawed at the face of the jellyfish, and slashed it with extreme force, delivering a quick blow to its health and fainting the slightly weakened Pokémon right then and there.

Natsu wanted to see it actually make an attack, but suddenly his own Happy Jr. began to glow on his own. Just like Lucy's starter, Torrecat had recently grown to a new level, and was now ready for a brand-new evolution. Once the flames and light cleared, the transformation sequence ended, and Natsu's new partner finished evolving.

He was now a tall, two-legged cat with a great big head, black chest, and large fighting arms fitted with razor sharp claws. The evolution also held a golden belt of sorts, and his new name read _Incineroar_. He was a Fire/Dark-type Pokémon, and already seemed ready to fight for Natsu in a sequel battle with the peculiar monster.

Natsu was ready as well, but as mentioned before, he would have liked to test the beast's strength more than he did. It appeared to be weak wo fighting moves, but handled fire moves very easily.

Lucy stood by with a worried glance as she expected that to take much longer than it did. Right when Natsu defeated the beast, the monster fled back through the hole it created, and took the entire vortex with it.

"So, it's true... I still need that Pokémon. I need to get it back."

Lusamine stood in the center of the blank room with widened eyes and an unusual smile. She turned about face, and addressed the entire group with wonder in her voice. "That creature we just saw was undoubtedly an _Ultra Beast_... An unknown being from another dimension that suddenly appears from the Ultra Wormhole..."

"No way!" Lucy stepped forward. "Hold on, that's the thing Professor Burnet mentioned back at the lab!"

Hau agreed. "Wow! Do you think there are more of them out there!? I wonder how it created that hole out of thin air!"

"I dunno…" Natsu expressed his concern. "It looked like a creepy monster."

"It looked like it was suffering..." Lusamine sharply replied. "Like it pained it to be in this strange place... I can't bear to see that happen! I will save it. And I will love it!"

The Aether President straightened her wardrobe, and shook out her hair to address her visitors for the final time. "Thank you...all of you... Thank you so much! Wicke. These three are still in the middle of their island challenge, aren't they? Please deliver them to their next island."

Wicke looked even more nervous than she did before, and gave the admin a firm nod. "O-oh! At once, ma'am!"

Lusamine turned away, and looked out toward the nearest window. "I will go to check that none of our poor resident Pokémon came to any harm. And I need to speak with Mr. Faba about exactly what happened downstairs. And of course... I will have to start preparing the foundation for our newest and perhaps greatest duty yet: the protection of the Ultra Beasts!"

"You want to protect that thing!?" Lucy shot back with attitude. "It looked possessed! There's no way those creatures are good for the other Pokémon! You need to monitor all the skies, and keep those worm holes out of sight while…!"

"Lucy." Lusamine stopped before the elevator, and turned to deliver one final chilling smile. "My dear…thank you for your words, but Miss Wicke will see you back to your trial now…I'm sure you wish to see that Professor and his _friends_."

"Grrr…" Lucy marched forward with a fist wound up in a ball, but Natsu put his hand on her shoulder to stop her in her tracks.

Miss Wicke chose to interject now that Lusamine was safely down the elevator, and signaled the command station to bring it back up at once. "I'll see the three of you to Ula'ula Island, then."

Hau kept blinking as if he had seen a ghost, and Natsu marched Lucy onto the elevator while the blonde trainer narrowed her vision and collected everything she could from her final view of the conservation deck. She wanted to retain all of this in her memory, and Lucy knew it would be hard to forget everything that just recently transpired. The Aether Foundation, worm holes, the Ultra Beast… Things sure were picking up on her adventure throughout Alola.

And that peculiar smile. The haunting image of Lusamine's green eyes staring back at her. This left a sour taste in Lucy's mouth, and a negative opinion on the rest of the Aether Paradise.

* * *

 **We saw the Ultra Beasts! We met Lusamine, and Lucy...she's already not a fan.**

 **New chapter tomorrow!**


	18. 17: Reunion with an old Friend

**Author's Note: Okay then! Number 17 here! I have to say today's chapter is very very special...let's see what happens?**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen - A Reunion with an Old Friend

* * *

"Land ahoy! All right! Terra firma under foot again!"

Hau leaped off the bow of the docked boat after arriving from the prestigious Aether Paradise. Lucy Heartfilia joined him soon after, and once all the other passengers of the free roaming ferry took their exit, Natsu Dragneel crawled off the deck of the boat with a stomach that was just getting used to the land.

"Grhgh…" Natsu tried keeping his last meal down. "Can I even throw up the food in here?! I thought it was all virtual, or something…!"

"Natsu…just get up." Lucy was growing even more embarrassed at the sight of her uselessly queasy friend, and continued following Hau into the new garden city of Malie.

Malie was the eastern most community on Ula'ula Island. Lucy noticed several strange settlements, and a couple tall mountains as they road in and rounded the island from the Aether Paradise building, but now they were in the lush oriental garden city with new sights on brand new adventures.

Hau stopped and took in a breath of fresh air. "Ula'ula Island is, like, another totally different place than Melemele or Akala, huh!"

"Yea, you said it…I just hope Natsu can get back to his fiery old self by the time we're done here."

"Agh…" Natsu lifted himself slowly off the ground and joined his comrades. "Don't worry about me, Lucy! You should know by now I'm totally fine once I'm off the vehicle!"

"Yea? I guess 'totally fine' is an acceptable way to describe you…"

Hau laughed, but wanted to help his new pink-haired friend earn his land legs again. "I've got an idea, Natsu! Let's have a battle!"

"Hey yea!" Natsu was regaining his composure. "Sounds like a hell of a plan! Give me all ya got, Hau!"

Hau nodded firmly. "I want my Pokémon to get a deep breath of this fresh new air! Don't worry. I'll make sure both our teams are in fighting form first."

"Oh brother…" The blonde friend protested. Natsu threw out his fully evolved Incineroar, and Hau tossed out his fully charged and recently evolved Raichu, only this one appeared to be very different than any one that Lucy had seen before.

"Wow." She looked at its levitating tail/surf board. "It's like a totally different Pokémon! Come to think of it, it must be one of those weird variant Pokémon…"

"Lucy!"

The celestial trainer turned away from her friends' battle to find the pale face of Lillie walking toward her. Lillie gave Lucy a small smile, and asked her a question. "It's been a while since I last saw you around. But weren't you supposed to meet with the professor in Malie Garden?"

"Oh hey Lillie! Yea I guess we were supposed to find him… She turned back to find Natsu and Hau still locked in battle. As a result, Lucy smirked at their idiocy and locked arms with her new best friend. "Oh well, we can let Natsu and Hau lead for a change. Why don't we find a shop to look around in?!"

"O-Oh…" Lillie lit up with delight. "That sounds lovely, actually…let's!"

Lucy and Lillie were now walking away from the battlefield of rivals, but now Natsu was going full force on his friendly opponent. "Okay Happy Jr., use that new move ya learned after evolving!"

Incineroar smirked for his master, and charged his razor claws full of black smoke. He then spun around like a feline tornado, and shot out a swiping attack multiple times to smack Raichu in the face before sending to the ground with 0 Hp.

"Happy Jr. used _Darkest Lariat!_ It's Super Effective!"

Raichu fell off his surf board tail, and returned to his owner's ball. Hau gave Natsu a continued beam, and threw out his next Pokémon. "Okay then, go _Vaporeon!_ "

Natsu prepared for the watery evolution of Eevee, and cheered when it landed on the field. "Oh no way! Lucy gave me a fire stone earlier, I have the fire one just like it!"

"Wow!" He laughed. "Maybe she should consider getting Jolteon then!"

"Ha! Nah, Lucy's prefers to keep it original with her team…okay Happy J, Send out another Lariat-thingy!"

Incineroar tried giving it his all, but failed to even bring Vaporeon's health to the low green. The water master then shot out a powerful _Water Pulse_ attack, which landed considerable damage onto the Fire-type, and left it confused.

Natsu shouted more commands, but the poor starter fell to its own self-inflicted wounds as the fiery trainer had no choice but to switch out for a second fighter. "All right then! Go _Lil' Igneel!_ "

Igneel 2.0 landed on the center of the field, but instead of coming out as a tiny little Bagon, the Dragon-type was now boasting the round, eggshell form of Shelgon. Vaporeon shout out another _Water Pulse_ , but it barely scratched the surface of the Dragon's hide, and left room for a powerful _Dragon Claw_ to clock it right in the face, and end its battle.

Finally, Hau nodded, and tossed out his own, recently evolved starter Pokémon. "All on you now, go _Decidueye!_ "

The tall avian Pokémon emerged from its ball, and resembled a cross between a skinny owl, and a hooded hawk. It had sharp eyes, bright feathers, and large talons ready for attacking as it grabbed a piece of its wing, and shot out a mysterious purple arrow.

"Decidueye used _Spirit Shackle!_ Igneel 2.o can no longer escape!"

"Oh man!" Natsu cheered. "That's a pretty gnarly lookin' Pokémon!"

"He sure is!" Hau cried back. "Too bad you can't switch out to a fire Pokémon, ay Natsu?"

"True…but's whose sayin' I didn't teach him any fire moves!? Lil' Igneel, use _FLAME CHARGE!"_

The small, round dragon charged its body full of fiery heat, and rammed into the opposing Grass/Ghost-type with a full force behind its tail. Small flames engulfed Decidueye, but its health was still in yellow, and no burns accented its feathers.

"Try another arrow!" Hau shouted, and the bird Pokémon followed by launching a second sinister arrow right above Shelgon's head, and dealt a lasting blow to faint it right there.

Natsu rejoiced, and tossed out the now tall and powerful Growlie, who looked to be a fully evolved Arcanine now. He pointed at the sorry looking bird, and yelled with full force.

"FLAMETHROWER THAT THING RIGHT _NOW!_ "

The battled ended after a large cloud of fire erupted over the poor Decidueye. Hau took a deep breath after the flame and fumes dissipated, and gave Natsu a firm hand shake. "Bwah! That battle took my breath away! I can't breathe the fresh air that way!"

"No kidding!" Natsu ate up a small ash floating down from the battle cloud. "Put you gotta admit that was a pretty tasty battle!"

"Pssh!" Hau walked off. "To you maybe! We're supposed to meet up with the professor, right? Where was it? Malie Garden?"

"Dunno!" Natsu yelled back. "Let's find him together though. I already lost Lucy, and I'll probably lose myself if I go wonderin' around on my own."

Natsu and Hau wondered around the lush, expansive garden of Maile City, and after battling their way through blocked off bridges and vibrant fields of grass, they discovered Professor Kukui sitting alone at a park tea shop waiting for their arrival.

"Oy! Professor Kukui!" Natsu shouted over. "What's up?"

"Hey there!" Kukui turned to deliver his usual calm smile. "What's going on with you two? Your eyes are shining extra bright today. Did something big happen?"

Hau jumped up, and stole the moment from Natsu. "Professor! Professor, you gotta hear this! The Ultra Wormhole opened up, like, right in front of us, and there really are Ultra Beasts in there! You've gotta tell Professor Burnet, too!"

"Woo! You got to see the Ultra Wormhole and an Ultra Beast?" Kukui almost couldn't believe it based on his befuddled expression. "That IS amazing, oh yeah! Sounds like an even better reason to train hard, yeah, on your island challenge! Maybe someday we'll all be able to go through the Ultra Wormhole!"

Natsu agreed. "No kidding! It looked like the same portal that shot Lucy and me in here back in the beginning. I bet Nigel sent it to us from somewhere in the game!"

Kukui gave him a supportive nod, and then stood from his bench. "All right! Your next trial is up on Mount Hokulani! You can catch the bus to get there. Just head to the bus stop on Route 10, yeah?"

Hau shook his head. "You guys can go ahead without me, Professor. I've got a hot date with a malasada shop! Visiting every last one of them is my own personal island challenge, yeah?"

Kukui smirked, and bowed his head. "Roger that, good buddy! I'll be waiting at the bus stop, Natsu. Grab Lucy whenever you're ready to go!"

Kukui marched off from the conversation, and Hau left Natsu with one final thought before splitting the party. "Hey, Natsu, did you know?"

"Probably not." Natsu laughed. "That's usually what Lucy's for."

Hau shook his head with a chuckle. "I haven't even finished the question yet… There's an observatory up on Mount Hokulani! And you do know what it is they do at an observatory, right? Hope you do, 'cause I sure as heck don't."

"No, can't say I do, man!" Natsu gave him a high five, and walked out of the garden. "I'm out! I gotta find Lucy and meet the Prof. at the bus…stop…WAIT I HAVE TO GET ON A BUS…!?"

* * *

Lucy would have been there to comfort Natsu's fear of riding machines, but she was too busy wondering the exotic town of Mali City with her good friend Lillie.

The timid young girl turned to her older Fairy friend and spoke with a gentle breath. "Lucy… Would you mind if I asked you something?"

"Sure!" Lucy rang back. "But I have the feeling it's about your little friend, Nebby, right?"

Lillie paused her walk and nodded. "Yes. I want to take Nebby to visit Ula'ula's ruins, but they are located deep in a large desert. I don't want to ask that much of you… Right now, I'm planning to visit Malie Library. There's a book that I want to look for there. Maybe you'd even be willing to help me?"

"Oh yea!" Lucy shouted with joy. "I'd love to help! I got rid of Natsu, so your timing couldn't be more perfect! We can look for it right now!"

Lillie agreed. "I know that Malie Library is here within the city of Malie somewhere... Even I should be able to find it. I can do this!"

"Hey wait! Hold…on…?" Lucy watched Lillie wonder off on her own, but never stopped her as a new, bizarre looking person came walking towards her. He was a man with long grey hair and a considerable skin tan. He had on a vibrant colored shirt, and thick brown eyebrows as he gave Lucy a welcoming smile.

"Why, hello there, Rotom! Are you feeling nice and comfy there in that Pokédex of yours?"

"Profezzzor!" Rotom popped out of Lucy's bag, and gave the strange man a greeting. "Never better! Zz-zz-zz!"

Lucy was stopped with total confusion until the old man looked at her and explained. "Oh! Well, hello there. Good to meet you. I'm Oak— _Samson Oak_. I'm a Pokémon researcher, and I'm looking into the regional variants found around here."

"Regional Variants…?" Lucy asked with some form of curiosity.

Samson Oak nodded. "And you must be Lucy, huh? Young Kukui mentioned you to me."

"He has, has he…" Lucy was starting to count up all the total strangers that knew her name and Natsu's, and it was beginning to make her uncomfortable. "Well I figured it was either him, or Nigel…"

Samson laughed as if he recognized that name. "Rotom, you be sure to help this fine young girl on her trip around the islands, all right? And you, Lucy! I'll be trusting you to keep Rotom safe, as well! The young fellow from Kalos who helped invent that Pokédex put a lot of work into it. And as much love and care as any parent!"

"Young fellow…from Kalos?" Lucy pondered that for a small moment, and quickly remembered one of her former companions who adored the science of Pokédexes. "Oh! You mean Trevor?!" I remember him from Kalos!"

Samson laughed. "Well I hoped that you would… I'll be in the Malie Library if you ever need me. Feel free to stop by and chat anytime. If you're having trouble finding the library, just follow the black-brick road! Meaning the patterns on these paths, of course. Black circle, black triangle, black square. Follow that pattern and it'll get you there!"

"Uh, y-yea sure! Thank you for the directions, sir!" Lucy gave him a kind bow. "It was nice meeting you!"

Samson went to accept a handshake from the Fairy Tail wizard, but suddenly noticed the pink guild emblem on her hand. He smiled brightly, accepted the gesture, and replied.

"Not a problem, dear. It was nice meeting you too…oh! And tell that young friend of yours I said hi! They're in your guild…oh what was her name again…?"

"Y-You mean Natsu!?" Lucy cracked a smile. "He's actually a boy, but yea I'll be sure to…!"

"No no, that's not what my cousin, Samuel said…ah!" Samson paused, and snapped his fingers. "Mavis! _Mavis Vermilion!_ Tell her we say hello from the Pokémon World!"

And just like that, Samson Oak turned from the conversation, and fled the scene. Lucy's jaw hit the floor, or at least stopped just shy of it as she had no idea how to react from that conversation.

"Mavis? How in the world does he know Mavis!?"

Lucy wanted to know more about that topic, but just noticed Lillie had wondered back over with a face of pure embarrassment. "Lucy... I'm sorry... I ended up getting lost, yet again..."

"Oh Lillie!" Lucy had no idea how to react. "I'm sorry! It's my fault, a random stranger stopped me on the street to talk about my Pokédex."

Lillie understood, and didn't actually blame Lucy for the mess she made. "I wandered around completely lost until I ducked into the apparel shop... And then I saw this outfit, and they said it was the last one they had in stock, so I bought it... Even though I don't think I'd ever have the guts to wear an outfit like it... Hah..."

"That's ridiculous!" Lucy shot back. "I'm sure you'd look amazing in it… Say Lillie, can I ask you a question about your clothes for a second. I-I mean while we're on the subject."

"Wha-!?" Lillie looked horrified to hear what Lucy had to say, but she still trusted the Celestial Wizard more than most people. "All right…I suppose."

Lucy carried on. "Your wardrobe…did your parents make you wear stuff that they picked out? Or did you get a say in any of it?"

"Oh, I figured you'd ask that at some point…" Lillie remembered mentioning that very thing briefly before, but knew it would later come back to haunt her. "I don't want to bore you…my childhood life is very hard to explain. I had two wonderful parents, but one left me and my brother when we were both very young, and the other…"

"Became cruel and unusual."

Lillie turned back, and then felt Lucy grab both of her hands. The Celestial Wizard gave her a sympathetic smile, and explained. "Lillie, that sounds exactly like the life _I_ had growing up! I understand what you went through. I'm sorry if I brought back some uncomfortable memories…but listen. I'm a friend, and if you ever want to talk about it, don't hesitate to say anything."

Lillie wanted to cry with pure delight, and tightened her grip on Lucy's hands. She shook her head, and whipped a tiny tear from her eye to recall what happened back at the clothing shop. "But anyway, the woman working at the store did tell me where to find the library! So I guess you could say it was all for the best. ...Though the library was actually right past the apparel store, if I'd just kept going."

"Sounds great!" Lucy let go, and joined her down the street. "Let's go find a missing book!"

Lillie agreed, but as the two blondes turned, she jumped up from the sight of a very large Pokémon galloping down the road, and hid behind Lucy.

"Yeek?!"

Hapu the Mudsdale owner road right up to the stoop of the library, and hopped off her trusty steed to greet a familiar face. "Lucy. Been a while, friend."

"Oh hey!" Lucy replied. "Hapu right? It's good to see you again!"

Hapu nodded. "Looks like your island challenge is coming along favorably. That must be pleasing to the tapu." She then turned to the quietly spooked Lillie "So, Lucy, who might this be?"

"Oh!" Lillie decided to speak for herself. "Hello... My name is Lillie."

Hapu laughed at her startled demeanor. "My apologies if Mudsdale spooked you just now. Doesn't seem like you're a trial-goer. What are you up to?"

Lillie enjoyed the opportunity to meet a friendly new face. "Oh. I'm actually, um, studying the tapu's ruins. For...various reasons of my own."

"Well, that's some fine initiative." Hapu slammed a foot into the ground and grinned with support. "I'd be happy to show you the way whenever you'd like to go. My Mudsdale here is as sturdy as all get-out. She can easily carry two."

"Oh yea, Lillie!" Lucy chimed in. "You should totally do that! They say the best way to collect research is right in the field you're studying!"

Lillie timidly agreed, and bowed her head. "Thank you for your offer."

Hapu gave the two girls a fine salute, and rode off in the other direction with her noble Mudsdale. "Shall we check out Malie Library first though, since we're here?" Lillie turned for the library door, and Lucy followed in slowly after while she continued to admire introducing two good friends.

Now inside the old and prestigious Malie Library, Lillie and Lucy thumbed through throngs of books as they tried looking for the text they needed. "The book that I'm looking for is a very old one. It's a book that contains old myths and legends that Professor Burnet told me about... Those tales seem to suggest that Alola's Legendary Pokémon came from another world."

"That's so weird." Lucy spoke up while her face was buried inside a book shelf. "The portal I saw earlier into the Ultra Space thing looked just like the one Natsu and I used to break into your world! I wonder if they're related or not…"

Lillie also pondered that idea, and sped up the search on her side of the library. "It must be a very valuable book, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to take it out of the library..."

Just as the two blondes picked up their search, a young girl covered in the color of lavender and indigo concealed a faint giggle from the corner of the reading room. She looked at an ancient book sitting on the middle table, and it appeared opened and ready for someone to read.

"Is this what you're looking for, Princess?" The girl had a tattered purple dress, and frizzy matching hair, but her spirit seemed very upbeat and playful. "Give it a read!"

"Huh!?" Lucy almost fell off the ladder she stood on for retrieving books the moment she heard 'Princess'. "O-Oh, sorry…thought you were someone else."

Lillie stepped over and sat down at the table with the old book and peculiar girl. "O-oh. Of course..."

Lucy took up a seat while Lillie flipped through the pages, and as she found the right note, the Pokémon assistant spoke up with a calm and smooth voice. "Well... It's titled _The Light of Alola_. I'll just...um...read it aloud, shall I?"

Lucy and the purple girl both gave her a nod, and Lillie carried on reading the ancient tome.

 _The empty sky broke asunder,_

 _a hole appearing where had been none._

 _A single beast appeared from in it:_

 _it was called the beats that devours the sun._

 _The King of Alola bowed before it:_

 _the beast that shone so like the sun._

 _The island guardians fought against it,_

 _but in the end the beats had won._

 _Then did the beast that devours the sun_

 _shine its light on the line of kings._

 _Then did the beast that had won_

 _bring nature's gift to bless all things._

 _Beast of sun and beast of moon._

 _Through their union, they brought new life._

 _A fragile heir in Alola born_

 _that island guardians would keep from strife._

 _The ancient kings sang their thanks_

 _for Solgaleo with song of flute._

 _Two tones rang out from across the altar—_

 _a perfect par, ever after mute._

Silence filled the upstairs of the library as Lucy, Lillie, and the mysterious girl in purple all collected the words on the page. Though she usually was the bright one when dealing with things like this, the poem from the story made Lucy's head hurt. "Umm…did anyone else get that?"

The purple girl smiled as if she did, and placed both hands on her waist. "Isn't it great? My dad's books are all great!"

"What?" Lillie bluntly asked. "I mean, yes, it is. But when you say your father... Isn't this book...very old?"

The girl replied very quickly. "Yeah, it belonged to my dad. I know I don't look it, but my family used to be pretty much royalty. I had to have all my dad's books moved here so they didn't get ruined by the Pokémon. I can tell you lots of other old stories about Alola, too! You interested?"

"Well...that would be wonderful!" Lillie admitted. "I would be delighted, if you did."

"Me too! Awe man…" Lucy was originally just as excited, but slammed her head hard against the table. "I'd love to stay, but I can already hear Natsu stomping down the street looking for me."

Lillie showed off an embarrassed face for Lucy's sake. "I think I'll stay here... But I know why you two have come to Ula'ula. You'll be undergoing another trial, won't you, Lucy? Good luck with it. I read that Ula'ula Island's Electric-type trial can only be reached by the bus on Route 10."

The nosey purple haired girl lit up with curiosity. "Oh! You're a trial-goer! You're just a few steps away from the trial at Mount Hokulani!"

"Yea? That's what people keep reminding me, anyway…" Lucy kept her head pressed against the table, as she now heard Natsu's thunderous feet marching up the wooden stairwell, and over to her table in a full gallop.

"OH MAN! Lucy, I'm glad I found ya!" He looked winded from a high-speed run. "I just found something totally awesome that you gotta see for yourself!"

"Natsu!?" Lucy was embarrassed from his rude behavior in front of Lillie and the stranger to her right. "Calm down! What do you want to show me?"

"Heehee!" He grabbed a Poké Ball and started rambling. "Okay, you know how you and I both played with Nigel's computers in the last two games? We both had that goofy little frog guy telling us where to go and what to do early on in the game."

"Y-Yea?" Lucy was worried her pink haired partner would scare away her two new friends. "What are you trying to tell me that I don't already know?"

"Agh!" He was growing frustrated with her attitude. "Just! Okay…let me show ya instead! Oooh man, you're gonna freak when he comes out!"

"He!?" Lucy's head sprang up like a dog around food. "Who do you mean!?"

Natsu's strange all-red _Cherish Ball_ landed firmly on the floor of the library, but its large and slender contents had already poured out to make an appearance. It held the grace and posture of a ninja. The large, bipedal, frog-like Pokémon had a body and legs as a deep dark blue, with single large white bubbles on its legs and arms, and white spots over its eyes.

The body of the ninja-mon was blue, cream white, and navy with markings all over, and its mouth appeared to be hidden behind a large, pink tongue that wrapped around its neck, which extended outward behind its head.

Finally, the large Pokémon labeled _Greninja_ delivered a firm bow of his head for Lucy, all while speaking with dignified elegance and grace. "Lady Lucy...It's been a while."

* * *

 **Okay then...let's recap.**

 **1.) Natsu can't catch a break with the vehicles...**

 **2.) What the f*ck was the deal with Sampson Oak...and why did he name-drop _that particular fairy_ of all people? ;)**

 **3.) Lucy and Lillie are really bonding! The idea of a friendship between them was one of the main motivating factors for me to write this story.**

 **4.) Lucy and Natsu are reunited with Froakie! Remember him from the first story? And again in the second one? Well...he's gotten a little "older" now! I figured it would be a funny way to bring him back since Ash's Greninja was a DLC character in the real games.**

 **Anyway that was a lot to process! I'm gonna head to work, and then go see a documentary on the Avett Brothers tonight. Should be fun!**

 **New chapter tomorrow!**


	19. 18: Trial 5: Corkscrew Crash

**Author's Note: Any fans of the Avett Brothers out there? I just went to see the _May it Last_ documentary last night. Really good film!**

 **Well yesterday's chapter was pretty hectic. Let's get back on track with a good, ol' fashioned trial!**

 **Also I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen - Trial 5: Corkscrew Crash

* * *

"FROAKIE!? But you're…you're not Froakie at all!"

Lucy jumped out of her chair, and Lillie had taken the strange purple-haired girl out of the room to avoid embarrassing Lucy any further. The blonde trainer was looking at her very first Pokémon, and partner from her play through of the Kalos region, but now he was fully evolved, and in the hands of Natsu Dragneel.

Froakie, or _Greninja_ as he now was, crossed his arms, and spoke with a sophisticated tone as usual. "Yes, well I say it's about time. I was overdue for an evolution the moment I stepped into help Natsu back in the Hoenn Region…meaning no offense."

"None taken!" Natsu cheered with a grin. "Hehe! How weird is that?! My first water Pokémon is gonna be one of your old cronies, ay Lucy!"

"You're taking him with you!?" Lucy was flabbergasted. "B-But you _HATE_ water Pokémon! Why are you so friendly to one now!?"

"Cause!" Natsu defended himself. "This lil' buddy helped me out when I was looking for Erza and the others back in Hoenn!"

"YEA?!" Lucy shouted. "He helped me back in Kalos to find YOU and the others way before that!"

"I believe everyone should calm down." Greninja sighed. "Miss Lucy, while you are my original trainer, I was left in the hands of Natsu back in Hoenn. That being said, I feel his team is far less balanced than yours, which is why I will take his invitation and join his Fire-Dragon crusade."

"YES!" Natsu boasted. "See? The frog chose me over you!"

"Idiot." Lucy marched for the stairs. "He basically said my team is better than yours."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Greninja admitted the truth, and followed Lucy down the steps. "In the meantime, try to catch up, Natsu. The bus stop is a few walks past the nearest route. We'll need that stomach of yours to be hard as iron once we make it up the slope."

Natsu's eye twitched while the two other companions left the upstairs room and fled for the door. He wanted to fall over and just sleep on the hard wood floor of the library, but his fiery heart wouldn't let him.

"Agh…GYAH! FINE! I'll go on the stupid bus! Ah man...why did I have just pick today to try one of those malasada thingies?!"

* * *

Lucy and Natsu made their way past the canyon of Route 10, which also involved Lucy collecting some adorable stuffed animal Pokémon for a kind old lady, and Natsu dispensing some more thugs from team Skull like they were nothing. They rode the rumbly bus up the slopes of Mount Hokulani (which did not sit well with Natsu's stomach at all), and finally the two young adventurers walked off their ride and out to the parking lot.

"Hmm…" Lucy waited for Natsu to regain the strength in his stomach, but used this still opportunity to look for her missing Pokémon professor. "I wonder where he could…?"

"Over here!" Kukui yelled from one of the viewing stations on the side of the cliff, and as Lucy waved back, she and Natsu ran over to greet their missing friend.

Kukui took in a deep breath of mountain fresh air, and put two fists on his hips. "Mount Hokulani is the second tallest mountain in Alola. And the tallest...Check it out, gang!"

Kukui's gesture led Natsu and Lucy's eyes right to a misty frozen peak far off in the distance, the height of which shot through the clouds and right toward the heavens. A sense of adventure filled both their eyes, but Lucy felt some unwanted chills creeping over her body due to the apparent source of ice and snow sitting on top of the frigid summit.

"You see that steep, jutting, majestic peak right over there?" Kukui reaffirmed. "That's Mount Lanakila... the highest peak in Alola! It's a sacred spot, yeah, the closest you can ever get to the Legendary Pokémon of Alola, said to be the sun and moon incarnate."

"No way!" Lucy's eyes grew twice their normal size. "That's incredible! I wonder if we'll have a better chance at reaching a portal to Magnolia from there!"

"No kidding!" Natsu agreed. "But, I bet there's gonna be some powerful trainers waitin' for us there too! After all, it looks like they're building something!"

Kukui gave them a firm nod, and turned to face the mountain again. "That's it! Right there! On the peak of Lanakila! That's where I'll establish our _Pokémon League!_ "

"YEA!?" Lucy and Natsu both rang out, and the Fire Wizard went even further. "Man, I called that! We're gonna march right up there and claim that peak for everyone back in Fairy Tail!"

Kukui liked his optimism, and went a step further in describing their shared dream. "We'll get everybody who's finished their island challenges, yeah, and up there on the peak of Mount Lanakila, they'll battle against the kahunas to become the island challenge champion! I've always valued our old traditions here in Alola, but it's time to make a Champion the whole world will recognize! It's time to get our own Elite Four and make our own Pokémon League!"

"That's really great!" Lucy was happy that the professor had found such a passionate project for himself. "It looks like you've worked really hard on the Pokémon League, Professor. You must really care about making a strong name for Alola!"

Kukui smiled at his own achievements, and gave her a shrug. "To think that, someday, the kiddos in Alola will be able to go from being the island challenge champion to the world Champion! And then, when we have our own Champion, they can show the rest of the world what's so special about Alolan Pokémon and their Trainers, yeah!"

"Totally!" Natsu rang out. "But we're still fighting for our chance to battle there. Let's find this next trial and get movin'!"

Kukui agreed, and decided to escort Natsu and Lucy over to the Observatory Building for their trial. However, as they tried entering the laboratory on their own, a tall, scrawny looking man with thin glasses stopped them for a friendly discussion.

"Hey there!" Kukui seemed to know this man.

And as expected, the man knew Kukui. "You're still as fired up as ever, eh, Royal?"

"Ha!" Kukui howled, and turned to the wo Fairies. "Fairy Tail, lemme introduce you. This is Molayne. He runs the observatory here, and also manages PC boxes, but he's not Hokulani's captain."

"But I was the captain once, my masked friend." Molayne nodded, and gave the trial goers his full attention. "It's Natsu and Lucy, right? We were given your names a while back. Thanks for coming all the way up Hokulani to visit us. But our Captain Sophocles is a busy young man. Always calculating comets' paths or working on that Festival Plaza thing of his..."

"Yea, I tried that out once…" Lucy chose her words carefully. "It was…interesting."

"He sounds awesome!" Natsu shot back. "But where is the guy!? I wanna get this trial under way ASAP!"

"My, you're both ready and raring to go!" Molayne nodded with enthusiasm. "I suppose we can try to find him now…"

Kukui wanted to chime in before he left. "Yeah, I think Lucy and Natsu are even stronger than we were at this point of our island challenge! All right, cousins, I'm heading back to Malie Garden. I figure Hau should be done eating malasada by now, yeah? I'll make sure he makes it up here, too."

"Okay?" Lucy replied awkwardly. "So, are we going in to take on the trial right now?"

"Sure!" Molayne cleared one of the lenses in his glasses, and opened the door to lead them in. "Welcome to our observatory, Fairy Tail!"

Molayne took Natsu and Lucy deep within the busy and hardworking sanctum of the Hokulani Observatory. Everyone inside seemed to be performing some sort of research, but before Lucy could gather any of what they were doing, Molayne showed them a sophisticated door in the back hall.

"Okay." He said with narrowed eyes. "Be honest with me…who challenged the Grass Trial first?

"Oh!" Natsu shot up like a child. "I wiped the floor with that thing!"

"Great…you're the fire one, I presume?" Molayne chuckled and turned for the other end of the hallway. "All right, you come with me. Eh, Lucy was it? Go on in, the Trial Captain's waiting for his next challenger."

"He is?" Lucy looked worried. "But where are you taking Natsu?"

"Oh we're going to the bleachers!" Molayne laughed. "Yea we have a seating area for people who are next in line to watch the trial goer before them."

"WHAT!?" Lucy shouted. "Oh not gonna happen! I had way too many eyes on me last time I fought that stupid Lurantis, and I…!"

"Yikes!" Molayne waved his hands. "Sorry, sorry! I was only kidding! You'll be alone with the captain in there. I'm taking Natsu to get him started on his trial."

"Wha-… _err_ all right." Lucy looked away from Molayne and over to Natsu. "Don't lose, okay?"

"Hehe." He gave her a laugh. "Why would I do that! The same goes for you, then!"

She smiled, and shut the electric door behind her as Molayne led Natsu away from her trial site and onto his own. Natsu was wondering where he was going, and every second wasted without a battle was wearing thin on his energy. "Okay, pal! Aren't you a little old to be doin' the trial captain stuff? Mallow said ya gotta be younger than 17, or something!"

"Well I am…only joking." He placed a key in his office door, and escorted Natsu inside. "Kukui gave me a special exception with the two of you. He wanted one of you to face off against the Electric-trial, and the other was going to face my side-trial to save time!"

"No kidding!" Natsu yelled with support. "Kukui is a genius! So, what will I be fightin' this time?"

"Steel-types." Molayne answered sharply. "So I'll just determine whether you're qualified to take on the trial."

"Steel, eh…?" Natsu thought about it for a brief moment, then smirked with full pride. "HA! It's like that loser Gajeel's magic! OH NOW I'M TOTALLY FIRED UP FOR THIS TRIAL! Give me everything ya got, Molayne!"

Molayne held up his hands in defense for just a minute. "I'll heal your team first, of course. Now, let's get down to…"

 _*SHOCK!*_

Before a battle could go underway, the power to the building flickered for a moment, then shut down, turning everything inside pitch black.

"Ah no!" Molayne chuckled through the darkness. "Cousin Soffy fried the system for the entire Hokulani Observatory! It must be his new Ping machine…"

"What!?" Natsu yelled in anger. "Dang it! I was gearin' up to take my trial!"

"Well, it looks like we'll have to…say, you're a fire trainer, aren't you?" Molayne tried to reason with him. "I tell ya what…let's just hav Pokémon Battle, you versus me. Your fire can give us a light, and I can try to get the power back up in between rounds. Sound good?"

"We're gonna battle now?" Natsu asked with a positive tone in his voice. "Sounds great! It's about time we fight a real trainer for one of these stupid trials!"

"Sounds good!" Molayne laughed. "And I'm not just trying to use you for your light source or anything…hehe. I'll gladly show you the skills of a Trainer who toughened up while adventuring alongside Kukui back in the day!"

"Bring it on!" Natsu and Molayne now held their Poké Balls. "I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

"Go _Skarmory!_ "

"GO _GROWLIE!_ "

The two trainers brought out their Pokémon, and just as Natsu promised, his Arcanine lit up the field with a mighty attack of fire.

"Growlie used _Flamethrower!_ It's super effective!"

"Whoa!" Molayne raised his hands with a laugh as he fiddled with a small hand-held device. "I wanna live to see one of us win this thing!"

Skarmory had the _Sturdy_ ability, which kept him alive for one extra turn. It shot over with a powerful Air Cutter attack, which when paired with a critical hit, the flying-type move left Arcanine in the serious yellow section of his health.

Growlie shot out a quick Ember attack, and fainted Skarmory there. Molayne shrugged and grabbed his next choice in line. "Eh, 3 v 2…Go _Metang!_ "

Natsu recognized the medium evolution of Beldum, because Steven Stone had one just like it during his playthrough in the Hoenn Region. Metang had a powerful psychic half, and as such prepared for Natsu's mighty Flamethrower to burn his body to a crisp before making an attack of his own.

Natsu's Arcanine was not messing around, however, and shot out a brilliant Flamethrower once again, but Molayne's Metang somehow stabilized itself and remain in the lower red of health.

This is right where Molayne wanted it. "Great! Use _Zen Headbutt!_ "

The Psychic/Steel monster rammed forward, and brought Arcanine's health down even lower than before, but after making the poor dog Pokémon flinch, it geared up for a second run, fainting Growlie in three total hits.

"Okay then!" Natsu cracked his knuckles. "Looks like we're goin' all out now! GO FLAMEY!"

One of Natsu's horribly nicknamed Pokémon flew out of its Poké Ball, and landed on the dark ground below. It appeared to be the fiery evolved from of Eevee known as _Flareon_ , and with the help of a sparkling coat, the room lit up to a dim shade of red.

"Now we're talkin'" Molayne nodded with acceptance, but then heard a loud zapping noise from the other room next door. "Yikes…I think that was your friend and Sophocles."

 _*Yeaaarrrrrgh!*_

"Really?!" Natsu heard them both yelling like they were in the same room. "That sounded pretty painful! What are they scrappin' it out in there!?"

"No no!" Molayne howled. "Soffy's not much of a fighter…they're rounding through a series of audio trivia questions, and whenever Lucy gets one wrong it zaps the whole room."

He then pressed a few more buttons from his own control, and yelled back to his cousin. "Soffy! I'll shut the system down as soon as I can, so hang in there!"

"Agh, LUCY!" Natsu laughed with fake rage, and acted like it shocked him in their room too. "WAY TA GET THE STUPID QUESTION WRONG!"

"SHUT UP NATSU!" Lucy yelled back in violent anger. "YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT WRONG TOO!"

"Ahhh…" Molayne rubbed the back of his head. "Your friend sounds like she's havin' a hard time in there."

"Nah!" Natsu proudly replied. "Lucy can handle anything thrown at her! She's super awesome at this game too!"

"Nice to hear that." Molayne liked the friendship displayed between two partner trainers. "Well, should we get on with our fight? I can switch the power on once Lucy's defeated the Totem, but I don't see why we can't finish this out first?"

"I like the way you think, Big Mo!" Natsu agreed, and pointed forward. "Flamey! Use _FIRE SPIN!_ "

Flareon nodded, and launched a large current of whirling fire all around the opponent's side of the field. Metang was healed by Molayne just moments before, but now it suffered serious damage and raging burns from forfeiting its attack.

It moved next, however, and launched another powerful _Zenn Headbutt_ right for the weakest Eeveelution, and although it did not manage to faint the fire-type, Flamey felt its health sink into the yellow zone, and used what energy it had left to shoot out a second _Fire Spin_ to faint Metang once and for all.

"Very impressive!" Molayne nodded. "2 v 1! Now…time for my favorite looking Pokémon! Go _Dugtrio!_ "

Natsu remember the tiny mole Pokémon from past games, but totally lost his mind the moment a trio of blonde feathery haired Pokémon landed on the field and prepped themselves for battle. "BAHAHA! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT! It looks amazing!"

Molayne agreed. "Regional variants are pretty great, right? Dugtrio, use _Mud Bomb!_ "

"AGH!" Natsu was taken away from his guard, and watched the sloppy ground-type move faint his weaker Flareon very easily. "A Ground type…I shoulda known there'd be a trick."

The two trainers were now brought with total darkness once again, but now Natsu brought out his third and final Pokémon, and just as expected, it was the same mon that followed him around since the beginning of his adventure with Lucy.

" _HAPPY JR!_ I CHOOSE YOU!"

Incineroar landed on the field with two large paws full of claws, and eyes full of fire. It smirked through the darkness, but forfeited the next move to the much faster Dugtrio.

The stealthy ground/steel-type with flawless hair shot out a second muddy ball of goop, which did lower Happy Jr's accuracy, but in the end, it was never really enough for the poor faux-totem Pokémon.

"NOW SAY GOOD BYE! USE YOUR _FIRE FANG!_ "

Incinerorar grinned with a vicious smile, and charged forward with fangs full of flames as it munched down on the tiny Dugtrio, and burned off its not-so-perfect hair. The Steel half of Dugtrio ended the battle very early from there, and Natsu claimed immediate victory following the aftermath.

"You're with Kukui, all right... Looks like he brought along a good Trainer." Molayne spoke to himself once the battle ceased fire, and then stepped forward to find Natsu hiding in the dark. "Well, well, you certainly seem qualified to take on the trial, so I guess I'll go ahead and say skip it! You pass!"

"I'll take it!" Natsu loved the idea of fighting as much as he could, but after that drawn-out battle, all he wanted was to find Lucy and get back on the road for their adventure. "I need ta get Lucy and get outta here. Kukui's lookin' for us down in Malie City!"

"Sounds good." Molayne understood. "That guy's as interesting as ever. My old buddy!"

 _*VOOM VOOM VOOM*_

Then, the powered kicked back on, and Molayne and Natsu could finally see each other and the door. They both rejoiced by shaking hands, and left the room to find Sophocles and Lucy finishing out the trial of Electricity.

* * *

 **Hmmm...the 5th trial is electric? But why did Natsu fight the Steel guy...?**

 **Let's see how Lucy's trial went down tomorrow!**


	20. 19: Trial 5-2: Gigavolt Havoc

**Author's Note: YIKES! I'm VERY sorry I forgot to upload today's chapter! Busy school day this morning!**

 **So we saw Natsu's trial yesterday. Now let's see what Lucy's up to today!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen - Trial 5.2: Gigavolt Havoc

* * *

Lucy had left the presence of Natsu and Molayne, and realized she was inside the office space/bed room of another building admin here at the observatory. The only person inside the room was a small bot with short yellow hair, a graphic white t-shirt, and a tiny Pikachu tail scarf.

She realized he looked younger than most of the trial captains so far, and tried playing nice for her battle. "You must be Sophocles. My name's Lucy, it's nice to meet you!"

Sophocles nodded, but gave her no greeting in response. "You're getting close to your goal... I imagine that you must have come here to attempt the trial, huh?"

"Uhhh…yea, that's why we're here." Lucy felt the room grow awkwardly quiet after providing her answer, and somehow Sophocles managed to break the silence on his own.

"So... Uh..." He asked timidly. "Do you like Festival Plaza?"

"Oh, the mini park thing you created?" Lucy hadn't played enough of on the Festival Plaza to form an opinion, but she still remained polite for the captain's sake. "Yea, it seems like a really great project you're working on!"

"Oh! If that's the case then..." Sophocles appreciated her kind words, but debated their validity. "Fine. Whatever. Let's get started."

"HUH!?" Lucy yelled in shock. "Here? Now? This is your bedroom, right?!"

Sophocles nodded. "Right now, right here. You summon the Totem Pokémon and prove your strength to it... That's what every trial boils down to, right? So I thought... Why not just call the totem here from the start?"

"Yea, I guess so…" Lucy sighed. "But, you know…we usually go out and fight somewhere massive and extravagant in the other trials."

Sophocles cracked a tiny laugh, and carried on. "So I tried a bit of this and that, and I think I've whipped up a little device to call the Totem Pokémon. Perhaps you're wondering why I built a machine? Here at the observatory, we also monitor sounds that we detect from outer space. There are some sounds that are inaudible to people but Pokémon can hear just fine. We broadcast the sounds we have gathered terrestrially and monitor the reactions of Pokémon."

"Wow, okay!" Lucy finally understood the importance of the observatory. "That sounds amazing!"

Sophocles rightfully agreed. "The machine that summons the Totem Pokémon makes use of this technology... Utilizing other sounds we have gathered, we also developed a security system here... But that was actually Big Mo's invention. Just so you know... This will actually be my first time trying it out, so I'm glad you came. I needed a test subject."

"A _test_ subject…?" Lucy asked with shaking muscles and wondering thoughts. "Okay…just don't hurt me or zap me off somewhere weird!"

Sophocles pulled out a tiny remote control device, and powered on his incredible computer system. "Ping Totem Pokémon 2.0, engage! Now the totem should—"

 _*SHOCK!*_

The power surged traumatically throughout the building, and sparked for a bit before flashing off and covering the room in total darkness.

"AHHHHHH! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Lucy shrieked with fear as she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face

"Gyargh?! No way! Did I blow a fuse?!" Sophocles was growing more and more embarrassed now that his master project was failing in front of his first trial contestant. "Oww! Did the door close?! Let's see, we'll need to turn off the security system to get the door open... You'll have to pass an audio quiz!"

"THE DOOR'S CLOSED!?" Lucy thumbed around to find the handle of he locked electric door, but tripped over several bulky boxes. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME!?"

Sophocles tried calming her down. "I-it's fine. I definitely feel a powerful presence. It's coming now. The _Totem Pokémon_ is coming. So let's get this trial going, OK? My trial is about to begin!"

"Ugh…" Lucy took several deep and steady breaths, and turned to whatever direction she thought Sophocles was standing in. "If only Natsu was still a Charmander…I could just use his tail. Fine, let's start the trial."

Lucy allowed Sophocles to start up a random sound, which horrified her in the beginning because Lucy never planned on remembering any sounds from this terrible video game. She listened carefully, but noticed the first one was definitely a freebee and snapped her fingers.

"Oh wait!" She smiled through the darkness. "I know this one…it's the Pokémon Center chime!"

"Whoa!" Sophocles was happy to hear Lucy answered the first quiz correctly. "As soon as the door opened, a Pokémon came through! I'm counting on you, Lucy!"

"All right!" She replied. "Time to shine! Go _Capricorn!_ "

Lucy watched a small insect Pokémon crawl through the door with just enough electric energy to provide a small light during the battle. The door it came through was not open for very long, and suddenly Capricorn the Sea Goat joined her on the field.

"I will dispatch this creature for you at once, Laaady Lucy!" Capricorn was smart enough to understand the mechanics of this game, and knew his Bulldoze move was super effective against electric-type Pokémon. He wouldn't have to be Lucy's ace during the totem battle, but he would certainly help for any other little skirmishes beforehand.

"I knew you could do it, Lucy!" Sophocles judged Capricorn's hard hit, and the lack of electricity coming from the tiny Grubbin as a sign that the battle had finished. "Oh, and just when I said it, the door closed again! I-it's gonna be OK. The Totem Pokémon is on its way."

The second sound the play over the intercom was very odd, and mechanical. Lucy had no idea what it was, until her trusty companion Rotomdex sparked out of her bag and gave her an easy hit.

"Zz-zz-zz! Can you guezz again, Mizz Lucy?"

"Oh! It's you, Rotom!" Lucy laughed and turned back to Sophocles. "It's my Rotomdex, isn't it?"

Sophocles clapped through the black void as the door swung open again. "Whoa! As soon as the door opened, a Pokémon came through! This one's up to you, too, Lucy!"

"Geeze, another one?" Lucy sighed and reached for Capricorn. "I was hoping it'd be the Totem this time…"

No, it was not. Instead a tiny green cube Pokémon named Charjibug rolled out and lit up the arena with the same electric glow as before. Lucy once again mindlessly threw out Capricorn to dispatch the enemy, and watched it faint as the yellow light disappeared.

"I knew you could do it, Lucy! Oh, and would you look at that—the door closed again while I was flapping my jaw! I-it's gonna be OK. The Totem Pokémon is on its way."

"You said that last time!" Lucy shouted through the dark room, but listened closely as a bizarre, accordion sound chimed over the intercom, and awaited her answer. "I-I…I have no idea what that one is!"

"Yeaaarrrrrgh!"

Both Lucy and Sophocles felt a sizable spark pass through their bodies, and flash up the room for just a brief moment as Lucy answered her first incorrect question. Sophocles took a large breath and explained. "When you get an answer wrong, the security system kicks in and sends out a shock!"

"Soffy! I'll shut the system down as soon as I can, so hang in there!" Molayne yelled through the wall on the other side, and tried giving them both a positive bit of news after being forcefully shocked.

"Agh, LUCY!" Natsu yelled out with fiery anger. "WAY TA GET THE STUPID QUESTION WRONG!"

"SHUT UP NATSU!" Lucy yelled back in violent anger. "YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT WRONG TOO!"

Sophocles wanted to laugh at their brother-sister-like argument, but took a sniff through the air as a small bit of smoke rolled under his nose. "Eww, do you smell something burning?! It's all right! I'm OK. I'm a tough kid! I'm a tough kid!"

"I hope you are!" Lucy yelled out. "Natsu's probably lighting the other room on fire right now."

The electric trial captain shook his head and fidgeted with his hand-held device once again. "I-it looks like the door's about to open...It's another Charjibug!"

"Another…ohhh. Now I hear it." Lucy face-palmed and heard the exact same accordion noise playing as the small insect slithered into battle. "Uh, do me a favor and don' tell Natsu about this…"

Lucy handily defeated the small rodent once again, and the impressed trial captain nodded with an approving smile through the dark of the room. "I knew you could do it, Lucy! And then of course the door goes and shuts again! Fool me once, shame on the door. Fool me twice, shame on the security system. Fool me thrice, shame on me, I guess... Here it comes! We're picking up traces of the Totem Pokémon extremely close by!"

"Now…" He asked with a small tone in his voice. "What appears when you hear the following music…?"

Lucy stopped to listen to a terrifying tune straight out of a Hollywood horror film. The crescendo in the song gave her a chill, but she had no idea what it was, or where the song came from. "I have no idea what you're talking about!?"

"Oohh…" Sophocles laughed at himself. "I forgot…you're playing this game through VR, not hand held…I guess you've never actually heard the Totem Pokémon music, have you, Lucy?"

"TOTEM POKEMON MUSIC!?"

Lucy and Sophocles both turned to watch the door force itself open without any system automated shock. A large blue and yellow flying bug shot through in a bolt of lightning, and slammed the door shut behind it as it cued up on the trial goer Lucy.

Sophocles stood back, and cheered on his new friend. "Th-there it is! The Totem Pokémon! This is your time to shine, Lucy!"

"Yea…I guess it is." Lucy smiled for the first time during this entire trial, because now that she saw the Totem Pokémon before her, it was time to release her secret weapon.

"Natsu thinks he's special finding my old Froakie hidden in his box, but I have a few new Pokémon up my sleeve as well…LIKE THIS ONE! GO _SCORPIO!_ "

Lucy threw out her brand-new Pokémon, but inside the Pokémon, a familiar spirit just like all the others emerged as a styling new form. It appeared to be a bluish-purple scorpion with wings, and giant pincers. Its name was _Gliscor_ , and its typing was Ground and Flying.

"What's happenin', Lucy!" Scorpio gave his master an enthusiastic entrance. "You feelin' ready and wicked for this battle?"

"Only if you are!" Lucy yelled out with support as the Totem Pokémon, now labeled as Vikavolt, charged up a totem aura to raise all of its stats at once. The Totem still had a low defense though, which gave Scorpio the go ahead to attack.

"Wiiicked!" He sang out with pride an anger as a large shock wave tremored the battlefield. The entire building shook, and Sophocles took a few moments to process everything through the now dimly lit room.

He then cracked a smile. "Um, hey Lucy? You do know ground moves won't work here, right?"

"Huh?" Lucy shot back. "Of course they will! This is the Electric trial! Ground beats electrici…ty."

"Scorpio used _Earthquake!_ Totem Vikavolt avoid the attack using its _Levitate_ ability!"

"OH COME ON!" Lucy tried pulling her hair out no that her master plan for the simple electric trial had blown up in her face. She now knew how Sophocles felt after releasing his machine to fail, and had no idea how to counter the opposing threat looming before her.

Vikavolt took its turn, and brought down its ginormous pincers to crack Scorpio's body and leave him in lower green health. That Vice grip attack was Vikavolts only hope of winning, but Lucy still had a defensive wall to work around now that it appeared to dodge her ground types.

"Man…I had that big reveal for Scorpio and everything…" Lucy blew a few loose hairs out of her eye, and rallied through Scorpio's move set. "Fine, let's try another long-shot…Scorpio, use _Sand Attack!_ "

Sand Attack was in fact a Ground-type move, but despite its typing, the attack still affected Flying-type Pokémon and Pokémon with the Levitate ability. Scorpio powered on his high-density _Sand Blaster_ spell, and shot a large cloud of dusty particles in the face of the totem Pokémon.

Vikavolt knew it would never win this battle on its own, so it decided to call for help in the form of the still useless Charjibug. The small grub Pokémon emerged on the scene, and unfortunately powered up Vikavolt's special moves, which were still only electric.

Charjibug did, however, launch a series of strings in the face of Scorpio, which harshly lowered the Scorpion Zodiac's accuracy.

"Agh man!" Scorpio yelled out as he tried clearing the String Shot from his claws. "This is totally un cool! Looks like we got a wicked fight ahead of use, Lucy!"

"It sure looks that way!" She yelled back. "Which is why we'll hit the big one with an _Aerial Ace!_ "

"Hehe, _Wickeeed!_ " Scorpio knew Aerial Ace had a 100% hit rate, and shot out a powerful Flying-type move toward the large flying bug Pokémon.

Despite its Bug typing, though, the electric half of Vikavolt left the flying-type move as normal damage, but Scorpio's high attack and STAB move support did bring Vikavolt down to low green as well, which evened out the fight between the two titan Pokémon.

"Ah yea!" Lucy cheered. "Two more hits should do it, Scorpio!"

Vikavolt knew it was a sitting duck, and had to act quick. The large Electric/Bug-type Pokémon tried shooting out a quick Charge attack just to power up its Electric moves, but it had no idea how to react, and only took an increase in Special Defense as a reward.

Charjibug was also in a tight spot, and tried launching a quick Mud Slap to hit Scorpio's vision, but the quick Scorpion was too fast for the move to land.

"Haha, wicked!" Scorpio cheered as he shot out a second Aerial Ace in a row. This left significant damage and sent Vikavolt into the bottom chunk of its red health.

"Nice!" Lucy clapped her hands together. "Sweet victory here we…!"

"AGHHHHHH!"

Lucy's primary Poké Ball erupted with a current of violent water, and out came the Water Bearer of the Zodiac, the angry and vengeful Aquarius.

"SO I HEAR YOU'RE FLIRTING WITH POKEMON THESE DAYS, TOO!?" Aquarius looked very angry to see that Scorpio had joined Lucy's team, and decided to take matters into her own hands at the worst possible time.

"NO!" Lucy yelled and hopelessly ran after her enraged Primarina. "Aquarius STOP RIGHT NOW!"

"SHUT IT BLONDIE!" Aquarius snapped back, and summoned an even larger torrent of water than before. "GYAH! I'M DROWNING THIS TWO TIMING LOW LIFE ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

"WHOA!" Scorpio saw an approaching total wave aimed right for him, and waved his wings in pure fear. "AQUARIUS IS TOTALLY WICKED RIGHT NOW! NOT COOL! NOT COOL!"

The confused Vikavolt and Charjibug fled for a moment out of fear for their own fate, but now notice Lucy's new Pokémon managed to faint her old one in a single hit. It now liked its chances against a Water-type Pokémon and released a large current of energy aimed right for Aquarius's head.

"Why me…?" Lucy cried out in soaking wet clothes from a puddle in the middle of the dark room. "Why can't I just have a normal run through with these stupid games without my team acting like a bunch of complete morons?"

Aquarius turned to find the large electric volt coming right at her, and had no choice but to tank the hit. She yelled out in extreme pain, and felt her heath fall down as fast as it could until 1 Hp remained strong and steady.

"Aquarius!?" Lucy knew Vikavolt had charged its electric typing one move earlier. It also had the STAB advantage, and Charjibug powering its attacks, but still it kept Aquarius standing with one measly hit point remaining.

"Y-yea…brat?" Aquarius was starting to feel guilty for ruining her battle. "Looks like our bond kept me alive…congrats, I guess."

Lucy was standing with total shock and awe as the Charjibug joined in too and threw out a _Thunder Wave_ to paralyze the already downed Aquarius. It would have hit her with a Vice Grip or Mud Slap, but the experienced S.O.S. Pokémon knew trainers liked to heal their Pokémon as soon as they could, so it only went for a paralysis that would be more lasting to the battle.

Aquarius smirked, and slowly stood from the charred spot on the ground below her. "Thanks for giving me another shot, you little pest…now I can finish off this battle, myself!"

She stood with the radiance and glow of water all around her body, and let out a loud wailing noise to stun the two remaining Pokémon, and sent the Totem Vikavolt past its red health and into a fainted position.

"Aquarius used _Sparkling Aria!_ It's not very Effective."

Lucy was very alarmed with Aquarius's attack, and also noticed she sacrificed herself to defeat the Totem the very moment Charjibug jumped over and _Vice Gripped_ Aquarius to defeat.

The Water Bearer fell, and Lucy had no idea how to react. She was very mad with Aquarius for intervening the attack, but in a way, she understood, and felt relieved that the Zodiac at least tried making amends to fix the mistake she made.

As a result, the victorious threw out Loke's Litleo form, and ended the fight with a swift _Flame Charge_. The Charjibug fell in defeat, and Lucy sighed with total relief as she collected all her Pokémon, and turned to find Sophocles standing in the dark.

 _*VOOM VOOM VOOM*_

After defeating Totem Vikavolt, everything in the observatory turned back to normal. The power switched back on, the trials ended, and Molayne and Natsu charged through he now open door to join Lucy and Sophocles.

"Soffy!"

"Big Mo!"

"Lucy!"

"Natsu!"

The friends and family members reunited, but Molayne broke it up soon after to finish up both of their trials. "Nice work, Captain! You helped Lucy here through her trial, and your experiment was a success!"

"No kidding?" Natsu yelled out. "Sounds good to me! Molayne gave me my trial in the other room while you two were playin' with lightning over here!"

"Thanks Natsu…" Lucy laughed with sarcasm. "I'm glad to hear we both won this one on the first go-round."

Molayne laughed, but then turned to Sophocles. "It seems that your Ping Totem Pokémon 2.0 uses too much electricity. If we can get a little assistance from Charjabug, we should be able to make some improvements."

Sophocles understood with a beaming smile for his older cousin, and turned to his successful trial goer. "Here, Lucy. I'll give you this Electrium Z to reward you for beating the Totem Pokémon." He then prepared for his Z-Move dance. "You watching?"

Sophocles waved his arms around, like most of these Z-Moves have you do, but he ended with a slick pose and his arms bent like a lightning bolt. He then turned with total embarrassment as the pretty Lucy laughed in support.

Sophocles explained. "I was fine when the power was off. Geez... Now that you can see me, I feel all nervous... I'm not sure what to say. Thanks? Or, uh, congratulations? You passed my trial."

"Awe, thank you!" Lucy graciously accepted, and stuffed her new Z-Crystal inside her bag.

Molayne agreed. "Congratulations on clearing your trial, Lucy! And you, Sophocles. You did well as captain."

Sophocles sighed. "I was really nervous..."

Molayne shook his head. "Don't you worry. I'm sure that I made the right choice in naming you captain. Even if you are my it's the island kahuna who appoints the captains. But there are some, er, unusual circumstances here on Ula'ula."

"So somehow I ended up captain..." Sophocles added on, and then gave Lucy a sympathetic smile. "But you were really great, Lucy."

"Yea, that's real great and all…" Natsu was getting jealous now that Lucy had a Z-Crystal and he didn't. "But, I'd like to get my little thingy before we move on."

"I see... Then let me reward you!" Molayne had no problem with giving Natsu what he wanted. The shiny Steelium Z crystal looked perfect as it fell from Molayne's hand and into Natsu's "This is one of the Z-Crystals that I collected long ago during my own island challenge to prove my strength and that of my Pokémon. So it seems fitting that it go from me to you. Take it, and use it well."

"Heehee!" Natsu laughed and roughly tossed it inside his bag. "Add that to the collection, Happy! We're on a roll now!"

"Aye Sir!" Happy flew out of the bag, and gave his partner a counting tally. "That's seven total Z-Crystals, and one Steelium Z that Lucy doesn't even have!"

"Jerk!" Lucy violently swiped at the flying Happy-dex with her large traveler's bag, but Molayne ended the feud by give each trainer their missing Z-Crystal.

He then carried on with a cheeky expression as he pulled a peculiar item out of his lab jacket. "And if we're done here, Fairy Tail... Could I ask you to do a favor for me? Professor Kukui forgot this. He said he would be going back to Malie Garden. Could you take it to him?"

"HA! NO WAY!" Natsu grabbed the mask, and stuff that in his bag too. "Looks like we get to call the ol' professor out next time we see him!"

"I guess that's what that means." Lucy laid her head inside one of her palms, and sighed as she turned for the door. "Come on, Natsu. Time to go find Professor Kukui."

* * *

 **So these last two chapters were a little shorter, but I guess in a way they were two parts to one bigger whole. ALSO! This was the very first time I as a writer wrote chapters out of order! I wrote this chapter first, then went back one and wrote Natsu vs Molayne in 18. It was interesting for me!**

 **New stuff tomorrow!**


	21. 20: Trouble in the Garden

**Author's Note: HA! We've made it to the big 2-0! Let's see what happens in this special chapter!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty - Trouble in the Garden

* * *

Natsu and Lucy had returned from the summit of Mount Hokulani after defeating their obstacles and claiming victory over the first Ula'ula Island trials. They had an adventurous walk down from the slope of the rocky peak, and were returning to the gardens of Malie City to meet up with their helpful in game guide, Professor Kukui.

"I'm serious, Natsu!" Lucy was pleading with her pink haired friend over a very important topic. "This is really important; how did you use your magic in that fight with the legendary Pokémon back in Hoenn?"

Natsu laughed. "I told ya, Lucy. I have no idea! I guess I was in the game's version of outer space. Maybe I was just on the far edge of the server, and just close enough to the real world."

"Yea…" She thought about it as they crossed into town. "That would make sense why your magic broke the server and cracked the sky. Still, we haven't found Nigel yet, and we're already half way through this story mode. I'm wondering if we'll need to go all out to find him, and try to break the game server like you did back in Hoenn."

"Sounds like a plan ta me!" Natsu replied. "I did it when me and the others attacked that purple guy in your game too! Our magic cracked the game and forced us out then."

"Ugh…" Lucy tugged on her hair while she passed under the garden arch for Malie City. "Why couldn't Nigel just make a simple in-and-out portal this time?! He had to of known that this would keep happening!"

Suddenly both Fairies held up their conversation as they noticed a large crowd blocking the main bridge into the center of the Malie Garden. They ran over to witness the commotion, but plowed through the crowd only to find Kukui standing in the face of two annoying Team Skull Grunts.

"Yo, yo, yo! Hold up, yo, !" One performed his ridiculous gestures, and mocked Professor Kukui as they both blocked the bridge.

The other joined in, and furthered the ridicule. "You say you wanna make a Pokémon League? You got rocks in your skull?"

Kukui never gave them an official answer to that question, and instead held up for stiff fingers. "Four turns!"

"Huh?" The grunts shouted in unison.

Kukui explained with a cheeky smile. "Bring it on, the both of you! I've been researching Pokémon moves, yeah, so I'm always ready, oh yeah! I'll take you both on in a Battle Royal, and you'll be down with just a Swift and Incinerate or two! You gotta beat the man to be the man, boys!"

"Whoa!" Natsu lit up with a laugh. "The professor's about to smash these clowns!"

"Yea." Lucy looked around, and made sure no other Team Skull members were lurking about. "I just hope this is it…"

"Yo, for real?" The Skull grunts looked worried, but stood up to fight anyway, as if they were being watched. "F-fine! You asked for it!"

Random citizens seemed to have the professor's back, and shouted at the enemy with supportive cheers and jeers.

"Get 'em good, Professor!"

"You numskulls should learn your place!"

However, one man approaching from behind the grunts on the bridge did not seem to have the Professor's back, and instead walked over to give the crowd his best introduction.

"Battle Royal, huh? Nice idea there, _Kukui._ You can beat down three Pokémon at once, huh?"

One of the grunts lit up with excitement. "Its' Guzma!"

The other turned to Kukui and laughed. "The Boss has graced us with his presence!"

"Wha-…?" Lucy stood off to the back with a weirded-out expression, while Natsu began cracking his knuckles.

"Who's this joker?" The Dragon Slayer snapped. "He got a death wish, or somethin'?"

The Team Skull Leader, Guzma, never heard Natsu's words of endearment, and continued walking right up to Kukui's face with a sinister smirk. "The hated boss who beats you down, and beats you down, and never lets up... Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!"

He and Kukui stood there staring at each other for a short period of time in silence, until Guzma broke out in laughter and turned to the other people in attendance.

"Greetings, cowering public! We have an exciting bout for you tonight! In the opposing corner, the Pokémon professor Kukui! And in this corner, the boss of Team Skull and the hardest guy around, Guzma!"

Lucy and Natsu figured he had to be making fun of the Battle Royal that Kukui loved so dearly, and as a result of their anger, both stood behind the professor as the Team Skull leader carried on.

Guzma spoke only a few inches away from Kukui, who still looked to be smiling like nothing was happening. "Here we are, Kukui... Fellow rejects who never could become captains. We've got all these moldy old traditions in Alola—the kahunas, the captains... It's about time we cut out all that silly garbage and make something new for ourselves. Trust me, I get that."

The Skull Boss then raised an eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, though, Kukui. We've got no need for a Pokémon League. After all, everyone already knows who the strongest Trainer is on these islands!"

Kukui stayed smiling throughout the whole ordeal, and answered Guzma with subtle charm. "Speak for yourself, Guzma. It's not like I couldn't become a captain. I chose not to. I had other dreams, see?"

He turned around, and while he noticed Lucy and Natsu now had his back, the Pokémon Professor carried on with his emotional monologue. "I wanted to figure out which moves would be strong enough to beat old Hala... and I finally found what I was looking for. The strongest moves you can use are the ones a Trainer and their Pokémon choose together... in the heat of the moment, when it really counts."

He then turned back to facing Guzma, but still remembered his Fairy Tail friends standing behind him. "That's when I knew I had to make a Pokémon League, yeah, to give everybody a chance to be pushed to the limit with their team and find that perfect move! Let's see it, Guzma! Show me your moves and prove you aren't just all talk! If you really can, that is...Right, _Fairy Tail_? Don't you agree?"

"Hell yea!" Natsu spoke for his party. "Give everyone a shot to reach the top! That way everyone can see who really is the best."

Guzma laughed, and got right in Natsu's face with a smirk. "So you're one of the kids on his island challenge? You don't look like Hala's grandson..."

"Grrr…!" Natsu was not happy with Guzma being so close, and gave the bad man a reply. "Give me a few seconds on the battlefield, and you'll wish I was…"

"Natsu!" Lucy reached out and pulled her ambitious friend away. "Don't bring Hau into this! He's not even here!"

"HA!" Guzma laughed. "Go on, kid. Let your girlfriend tell ya what's up! She seems to have the brains."

"Excuse me?!" Lucy now showed off some fire just like Natsu. "Sorry, but Natsu and I are a team. If he wants to battle you, then I can't help you once it's over!"

Kukui smiled. "This here's Natsu and Lucy. They just moved to Alola recently. Discovery! New experiences! Adventure! They're loving every minute of it!"

He then looked over the Fire Dragon Wizard with a grin. "Natsu and his fire can unleash some real powerful moves. So if you think you're the strongest Trainer on these islands, Guzma, why don't you battle him?"

"Sounds good to me…" Natsu replied with a straight face. "But my Pokémon are all fainted from that walk down the mountain."

"…WHAT!?"

Everyone in the area, except for a chuckling Kukui all broke out in a hysterical yell. Lucy wanted to fall over with pure embarrassment after talking up her best friend in battle. "That's the last time I have your back going into a fight…"

"HAHA!" Guzma howled. "That's some rich stuff, kiddies! So the little girl is gonna fight me after all!"

"Huh?" Lucy stepped back. "No, I-I never said I'd…"

"Come on, Lucy." Natsu put his hand on her shoulder from behind. "Show this clown what a Fairy Tail wizard can do, no matter what universe they're in."

Guzma had no idea what all this "Fairy Tail" nonsense was, but he did locate a shining Z-Ring wrapped around Lucy's wrist. "You've got a Z-Ring, huh, kid? Why even bother with the island challenge? What's the point of it?"

Lucy honestly didn't care about the island challenge. She met some amazing people in the world of Alola, and had some memorable moments. However, finding her guild's missing client and friend was her team's number 1 priority.

The only problem was, she had to way of explaining that to Guzma. "I'm…I'm not sure how to answer that."

"Ha! AHAHAHA!" Guzma slapped his knee. "You don't even know why you're doing it. Watch closely, Kukui. Someday I'm gonna destroy you. But first, I'll destroy everything you care about!"

He then grabbed a Poké ball from his belt, and glared at Lucy from across an open field. "Wanna see what destruction looks like, blondie? Here it is in human form—it's your boy _Guzma!_ "

"Go _Golisopod!_ "

"Go _Cancer!_ "

Both trainers ironically threw out two crustaceous looking Pokémon found in the depths of the sea. Guzma's tall Water/Bug-type was sinister with great big claws and evil looking eyes, but it actually Lucy's brand new fossil Pokémon _Kabutops_ that drew the most attention.

"WHOA, LUCY!" Natsu cheered on. "Where'd ya get the crab guy from!?"

"Oh!" Lucy replied. "I had his fossil for a while, but some people at the observatory helped me revive it. I used the mountain slope to train him up, so now he's joined the team!"

"Sounds good to me, baby." The usually cool Cancer replied from the field. "So, what's the deal? You want me to trim up this baddy real good, Baby?"

"Sure, why not!" Lucy chose a hard-hitting _Slash_ move to deal out the first bit of damage, but panicked the moment a powerful claw attack launched from Golisopod slammed into Kabutops and critically injured him into the yellow health.

"Golisopod used _First Impression!_ "

Cancer ignored the damage, and lunged forward with blades of fury. "Bah! Badadabah, snip, snip...dah!"

He gave Golisopod a good snip around the edges, and sent his enemy into equal health. Golisopod wanted to attack back, but its _Emergency Exit_ ability sent it back to Guzma's party with surviving health.

"Ha!" Guzma tried to act like that was all a part of his plan. "Go _Ariados!_ "

A large ugly spider jumped onto the field, but without scaring Lucy, she now knew Guzma was a bug-type trainer. She ordered her hard-hitting Cancer to play around with a quick _Swords Dance_ , raising his attack stat dramatically.

Guzma rolled his eyes, and ordered his Ariados to vanish into thin air due to its mysterious attack, _Shadow Sneak_. Lucy looked all around the grounds as nothing seemed to happen, and ordered for Cancer to power on another _Swords Dance_.

The Shadow Sneaking Ariados launched itself from out of nowhere, and brought Kabutops dangerously down into the red, but now it was Cancer's turn to return the favor.

"Looks like you need a new look, baby!" The cheesy stylist spirit Slash the spider Pokémon up a bit before fainting it in one hit. Guzma knew his Golisopod was no match for a x2 Swords Dancing Kabutops, and performed a rare tactic in the Pokémon video game universe.

"I see…" He threw in the towel, and forfeit without showing his full strength. "Great work, I guess…"

"Whoa!" Lucy put her foot down. "Not cool! I wanted to beat you fair and square!"

The Team Skull boss continued smiling for just a moment as he ignored Lucy's plea, and turned a fake form of angry as he stormed around in a circle. "Guzma! What is wrong with you?! Now's the time for your vaunted team to let loose and destroy everything!"

He looked the two trainers over, and continued with his persistent smirking. "It was Fairy Tail, right? Natsu and Lucy… I'll remember you both...as some chumps I'll be happy to beat down anytime!"

Guzma left the crowd, and plowed through Lucy and Kukui to do it. His grunts lingered for a little bit, but only to leave one lasting threat.

"Don't mess with the boss, yo! You don't want him to get serious!"

The Team Skull members all fled the scene after Lucy's heroic victory, and even though the blonde trainer never felt an ounce of proper pride throughout the whole battle, Natsu stepped up and gave her a hug. "Nice work, Lucy! Those fools will be lickin' their wounds for a long time, now!"

"Yea?" She softly replied. "I hope so…I could use a break from them for once."

Kukui agreed with Natsu, and turned to give the winning trainer a smile. "Woo, Lucy! Those were some nice moves! I can feel my soul shaking!"

"Were they, though?" Lucy formed her own doubts. "I only fought one and a half of his team…"

"Lucy!" Natsu tried cheering her up. "You still sent the guy packin'! He knew he had no chance of beatin' ya, so he tucked his tail away and ran! You won, end of story!"

Lucy took a deep breath, and smiled for her long time, pink-haired friend. "You're right, Natsu. We beat Team Skull, and now we're moving on to our next mission."

"Oh yeah!" Kukui interjected. "I almost forgot to give you something super important! Here you go, cousins. This is the Z-Crystal for your starters! The Evolution of the starter Pokémon you both chose!"

"Whoah!" Natsu grabbed his straight out of Kukui's hand and jumped around like a kid on his birthday. "This is the coolest thing ever! Check it out, Lucy!"

"I know!" Lucy finally had a specific Z-Crystal reserved for Aquarius. "I just hope she doesn't use this thing to wash me away…"

Kukui nodded, but he still had one more official detail to deal with. "And, uh, about that mask you've got there, Natsu... Molayne gave you that, yeah? I'll take it, if you don't mind. I can make sure it gets back to the Masked Royal safe and sound..."

"Uh-huh…" Natsu rolled his eyes, and removed the Masked Royal's item from his bag. "Anything I can do to help…"

Kukui stuck with a smile during the whole transaction, and then looked around the now dissipating crowd. "So what happened to Lillie? You lose her somewhere, Lucy? You two seem like you're hitting it off…"

"Oh, right!" Lucy looked around as well, and remembered this was the last place she left the curious blonde haired girl behind.

"I'm right here." Lillie walked through the gateway to the garden with a worried expression, and a familiar face following from behind.

"And so is Acerola!" The mysterious purple-haired girl from before finally revealed her name, and ran up beside Lillie to join the conversation. "Been a while, hasn't it, Lucy?"

Kukui took the next move, and thought about the missing member of the group. "And Hau is...probably at a malasada shop somewhere, yeah?"

Lillie had no idea where Hau was, and instead ran up to grab her good friend Lucy by the hands. "You and the professor fought those horrible Team Skull thugs, Lucy? Just thinking about it makes me worry... They sound like a scary group..."

Kukui answered before Lucy, and let out a sarcastic laugh. "You think? I don't know. Exchanging a few moves in battle is the quickest way to get to know someone in my book."

"I'll agree to that!" Natsu yelled aloud. "A good fight between enemies is one way to meet a total stranger! Ain't that right, Lucy?"

"I suppose so…" Lucy thought about all the random faces she fought against with her guild, Fairy Tail, and then recycled even more after recollecting the trainers she's sheen in the Pokémon games. "I'm not a fan of fighting, but I guess it is a good way to measure your characteristic the best."

Kukui clapped loudly to agree with Lucy, and then walked past the large group reunion. "Well, I'm going to head up Mount Lanakila. I've gotta make sure the Pokémon League gets finished and everybody has the chance to find their own perfect move! Keep training hard on your island challenge, Fairy Tail, and one day you'll make it there!"

"Mount Lanakila…" Natsu held up a fist as Kukui walked away. "Sure thing, old man…I'll be waitin' for the chance to take it on myself."

"Natsu…" Lucy sighed loudly. "The professor isn't even that old…ugh, anyway, Lillie, are you alrright?"

Lillie nodded to assure her safety, but still gave Lucy a cautious look. Lucy... Be sure you're not pushing yourself too hard."

Acerola stepped in before Lillie grew too emotional. "Lucy and Natsu! You made it through Sophocles's trial, huh? That's really great! You can take on the next trial up past Route 11. Through _Tapu Village_ , you know? If you get lost on your way, ask a police officer for directions. They're here to serve, right?" She then turned around and grabbed Lillie by the arm. "Now, Lillie, you're coming with me to do some shopping!"

"But…no!" Lucy fell on her knees as Acerola and Lillie ran off. "I want to…go shopping too…!"

"Ah, cheer up, Lucy!" Natsu gave her some support in her time of need. "You still have me and the island challenge to deal with!"

"…" Lucy let her head slam into the hard dirt ground of Mailie Garden, and sighed with a never-ending breath. "Fine…let's go then, Natsu."

Everyone had left the garden, but all of a sudden, Hau the rival ran right through the garden gate and over to the two heroes. "Natsu! Lucy! I heard the news from Sophocles! You helped him out with testing da kine, yeah? The totem-calling machine or whatever?"

"Yea we did!" Natsu spoke for the group as Lucy slowly picked herself up from off the ground. "How did you do,man?"

Hau stepped back with a slightly cocky expression. "I guess I was test subject number two! But I managed to get through the trail… Maybe even managed to get a bit stronger, eh?"

"You only have one volume, don't you? Haven't you ever heard the expression that silence is golden?"

The three trainers stood alone in the entrance for Malie Garden as they heard a familiar voice creeping up from the side of the brush. A blonde figure stepped out of the tall grass, and spoke his mind freely. "Listen, Team Skull is looking for a Pokémon called _Cosmog_... Do you two know anything?"

Natsu's mind was broken, as usual, but Lucy was keeping her mouth shut solid around the odd boy Gladion while he asked his nosy questions.

Hau, on the other hand, chose to run his mouth as usual. "What!? N-not that we'd tell you!"

"For real!" Lucy pleaded. "You don't have to be all dark and mysterious all the time!"

Gladion rolled his eyes. "So you do know something. Look... Cosmog isn't even a strong Pokémon. But it has the potential to summon Pokémon so terrifyingly strong that you don't even know. If something like that happened, it would be a disaster for Alola..."

"A disaster?" They all shouted together, but the Alolan veteran Hau spoke just after. "Like…a real disaster? Then what're we supposed to do about it?"

"Protect it!" Gladion replied with a snappy attitude. "If you do know where Cosmog is or if you do find anything out...just keep it safe! I know I might be working for Team Skull right now, so you may not trust me or care but... I'm going to tell you this just once. You have to protect Cosmog... no matter what!"

"You got that right…" Natsu wound up his fist and looked Gladion dead on the eye. "You're a member of Team Skull, so why should we go tellin' you free information about any odd Pokémon?"

Gladion never gave Natsu the satisfaction, and instead turned for the door out of the garden. "I still don't even understand how Team Skull found out about Cosmog in the first place..."

Hau jumped up and down like a crazy person. "What do you mean? No matter what? You just gonna leave us hanging?"

"Seriously!" Lucy felt like now was the time to join in. "You have to tell us more if you really want our help!"

Gladion never gave them any more advice, and instead chose to walk through the garden arches off for his next encounter. Natsu boiled with rage and slammed his fist into the ground. "AGH! Punks like that really piss me off! The act like they're tryin' ta help, but they end up just actin' all emotional and ruining it for the rest of us!"

"Natsu…" Lucy held her tongue, and turned to Hau. "So, any idea for what happens next?"

"Natsu, Lucy…." Hau finally rejoined the conversation. "If they're really looking for Cosmog, then… is Lillie gonna be okay?"

"She better be!" Natsu stood tall. "She's a friend of the guild, now! Any friend of ours is a friend worth protectin'!"

Hau nodded firmly. "I don't really get what's going on, but we've just got to keep both of them safe, right?"

"You're absolutely right, Hau…" Lucy stood with Natsu, and gave him a solid answer. "We'll keep Lillie safe, and whatever secrets she's trying to hide."

Hau liked her answer, and smiled for his new Fairy friends. "Then I know what I'm gonna do… Take on my next trial so I can get even stronger! I'm gonna complete my island challenge, and I'm gonna get Tapu Koko to recognize my strength, then I'm gonna be the next island kahuna!"

"Well, I'll be challengin' ya the whole step of the way!" Natsu gave his Alolan rival a high-five. "Lucy and I came to save an ol' friend, but we'll take the league championship if it means savin' Nigel's skin!"

Hau laughed, and accepted the gesture. "I want make sure more and more people can have fun battling to see who wins or loses! Guys, let's try to become real champions!"

"Sounds good to me!" Natsu turned away from Hau, and gave all his attention to his blonde-haired partner. "Come on, Lucy, wat do ya say?"

"What do I say?" Lucy smiled with a quirky reply. "Nastu! I'm your teammate! I'm always ready to fight by your side!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Natsu, Lucy and Hau all three turned for the garden exit, but the Fire Dragon Slayer led the pack as he continued on with his expression. "I'm all fired up to win this league, and destroy and one who gets in our way while we're trying to do it! Ready or not, Mount Lanakikla here we come!"

* * *

 **Uh-oh! Ya boi Guzma showed up for chapter 20! Such a funny character on Gamefreak's part!**

 **So I usually make a big deal when a story of mine hits 20 chapters. Since we've got a lot of material to look back on, feel free to leave me a comment with how you like/hate the story so far? Have you had a favorite part? Have I neglected to write in a scene you really wanted to experience? Do you have any predictions for how the ending will be? Let me know! I LOVE hearing from my audiences no matter what!**

 **Also, it is Friday again, so no chapter until Monday. See you then!**


	22. 21: Trial 6: Never Ending Nightmare

**Author's Note: YIKES! Guys! My apologies, but I have been VERY busy IRL! I hope you can forgive me, and as a result I am trying to give you two chapters this Friday!**

 **Also, I do not own Fairy Tail or Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty One - Trial 6: Never-ending Nightmare

* * *

"Phew... Look, guys! Seems like we're almost to the Aether House, where the captain is supposed to be, huh?"

Hau led a tired line of Pokémon trainers made up of himself, Natsu, and Lucy as they walked out of the rocky rough of Route 13. The trio had just made it to the usually abandoned Tapu Village, which sat at the stony foot of Mount Lanakila in the center of Ula'ula Island.

Lucy stopped behind him and let out a deep sigh. "Yea? Well let's stop talking about it and just go, already."

"Ah, come on, Lucy!" Natsu was picking up his energy. "This place looks right up your alley! It's got these cool ruins and stuff!"

"Yea?" Lucy started agreeing with him. "I guess there is a certain charm to all of this…"

"Hey, look! Construction workers! That must be what Kukui was talking about!" Hau stopped the group as they noticed several working men building a large strip of metal cables that ran up the face of the mountain. "So they're really making a Pokémon League up on top of Mount Lanakila..."

"No way!" Natsu never understood the seriousness of the project from Mount Hokulani, but now figured it out after standing at the edge of the largest mountain in Alola. "This will be so cool! It'll be a great way to end the game!"

Hau agreed. "The professor told me that Pokémon Leagues in other regions have four crazy-strong Trainers in them that they call the _Elite Four!_ "

"He's right!" Lucy chimed in from the back. "Natsu and I fought against the Pokémon League in other games…I-I mean regions. I'm sure Alola's will be just a great if not greater!"

"The Elite Four and our island kahunas..." Hau thought about the weight of that phrase. "I wonder which ones are stronger! I can't wait to find out!"

"And I can't wait to beat them all, myself." Natsu patted his chest and turned for Route 15. "Come on, I smell that purple girl's scent over this way!"

Before the three trainers moved on to their next island trial, they first had to rendezvous with the trial's captain at a strange outpost on Route 15 sponsored by the Aether Foundation. This pearly white building standing alone on Route 15 served as a sanctuary for lost Pokémon and trainers looking for a place to spend the night or rest. It was also the current residence of the trial captain for the next island challenge event.

"Wait up, guys!" Hau pleaded now that he was behind the other in the group. "So, this is the Aether House, eh?"

"I dunno!" Natsu charged up the stepped and opened the door. "Let's find out!"

"Idiot." Lucy slowly followed the two boys up. "Can't we just knock before marching in for once in our lives…?"

"Strangers!"

Two kids came running out of one of the back rooms, and appeared to be the only human resident, apart from a peculiar Oranguru Pokémon standing behind the service desk.

Lucy looked around the polished white lobby with confused eyes. "Am I the only one wondering why a monkey is running this place!?"

"This means battle!" Two young voices shouted at the uninvited guests. "We'll protect our home when Acerola's away!"

Natsu and Hau ignored her, because they were both being attack by small children, and Hau had no idea how to react without anger. "What? Why?!"

"Who cares!" Natsu smiled like a maniac. "They're askin' for it in my book!"

Natsu and Hau began some very intense battles with the two defensive youngsters, all while Lucy stood in the open floor with a dumbstruck look capturing her face. Luckily, the doors to the Aether House opened behind her, and the tiny but lovely Acerola ran in to greet her new island challengers.

"I'm ba-a-ack, everybody!" Acerola had a little song in her voice as she ran up to greet her lovely guests. "Ha ha ha! Looks like I finished up my shopping spree right on time! You've already met everyone?"

"Sort of?" Lucy sighed. "If you count battling as meeting someone…so if you're Professor Kukui, then yea we have! By the way, where's Lillie?"

Acerola walked in and observed the two battles from a distance as she spoke with Lucy. "I left her with Hapu. They should be coming soon. So why don't we get those trials done first? You did know I'm the captain, right?"

"I made the connection, yea. Thanks to your hair pin, anyway." Lucy made note of Acerola's trial captain pendant attached to her purple hair.

Acerola nodded. "My trial takes place at the abandoned site where the supermarket used to be. I'll wait out front of Aether House to show you the way, if you'd like!"

Lucy agreed, but she noticed Acerola was now caught up in watching the two battles taking place inside the Aether House. The blonde decided to get a head start anyway, and went through the building doors to stumble across a very disturbing sight.

"What do you think you're doing?! Stop it! Stop it right now!"

Lillie shouted at the foot of the stairs outside of the Aether House, and stood away from an approaching Team Skull Grunt getting up in her business. The grunt appeared to be slightly threatening to anyone who did not have Pokémon to protect them, but seemed most interested in the contents of Lillie's bag.

"For real, girl?! Your bag was moving! Right in front of my eyes! And I'm just supposed to ignore that!?" He performed his goofy dance like all the other grunts do, and stepped forward to attack the girl. "If you've got some rare Pokémon in there, I'm gonna have to take it and make some cash!" "Even if it's not that rare of a Pokémon, I bet I could still get paid, yo."

"Not if I'm around to stop it!" Lucy darted forward just as Lillie pulled her bag away, and the moment the Fairy Tail Wizard intervened, a bright smile lit up on Lillie's face.

"Lucy!" Lillie stood behind her close friend from Magnolia, and knew she was in good hands from here out.

The Team Skull grunt looked totally shocked to get interrupted, and jumped back in a flash. "Oh, so we're following that script, are we? A trainer dashes forward to save the girl, huh? I'm not gonna let you be the hero in this scene!"

"Well, judging by your team's track record, I'd say you don't really have a choice!" Lucy grabbed a ball from her belt to challenge the foes very timely, but very lackadaisical Pokémon, Dorowzee.

"Go _Sagittarius!_ " Lucy released a brand-new team member from her party, but the familiar expression of the Archer of the Zodiac took the field with a noble and chivalrous battle cry.

"You rang, my Lady?" Sagittarius took the form of a Generation V electric zebra Pokémon known as _Zebstrika_ , but still graced his master with an honorable introduction. "I will vanquish this rapscallion in the blink of an eye!"

"That's what I like to hear." Lucy fully agreed and unleashed her wrath. "USE _THUNDERBOLT!_ "

"Be gone, fell trainer!" Sagittarius shot out a wickedly powerful bolt of lightning in the shape of a single yellow arrow, and snapped it right in the head of the poor under leveled Drowzee, fainting the opponent and ending the battle right there.

"This result…what's up with that?" The Skull grunt looked like he regretted ever messing with Lillie's belongings. "When I saw that adorable Drowzee, that was enough for me! Later!"

"What the hell does that even mean!?" Lucy yelled out with more rage than before as the Skull member tucked his tail and fled the scene of the crime, all while she let out her usual stress relieving sigh. "Ugh…nice work Sagittarius. At least I have one spirit who doesn't raise my blood pressure on purpose."

"It was my pleasure, Lady Lucy." The honorable Zebstrika would have raised a hand in a salute, but did not possess the capability in his four-legged form. "Feel free to call on my assistance at any time!"

Sagittarius vanished from the battle, and Lillie stepped up to congratulate her female champion. "Phew... Thank you, Lucy..."

Lillie grabbed Lucy by the hands, and the blonde Celestial Trainer spoke back with her reply. "No problem! But are you okay? Wat happened exactly!?"

Lillie hated to admit her blunder, but let it out none the less. "I just wanted to go for a stroll on my own, to see what it must feel like to be a Trainer... So Hapu and I went our separate ways... but then Nebby tried to get out of my bag..."

She then let the curious ball of air out of her bag, and continued to jokingly scold him. "Didn't you! Go on, you little troublemaker... You'd better thank Lucy, too!"

Lillie wasn't done, and proceeded to pull out a sizable package from a Poké Ball shop from Malie City. "Oh, and...um. When I was out shopping, I kept thinking about how I wanted to be some help to you during your island challenge...and then I saw these." She handed over 5 expensive Luxury balls. "I bought them without even thinking!"

"Lillie!" Lucy graciously accepted them. "You didn't have to do that! Did you come all the way out here to give these to me?"

Lillie nodded with embarrassment, and pulled out a second package. "Here are Natsu's…and Hau's…I am rather ridiculous, aren't I?"

"NO! Not at all!" Lucy dropped everything in her hands and wrapped her arms around Lillie in a warm embrace. "You shouldn't have to hurt yourself to give us gifts, though! That's so nice of you to think about us like that!"

"It is…?" Lillie knew she was being nice, but Lucy's hug was starting to get to her as a tiny drop of water formed under her eye.

The sentimental moment took a short pause as Acerola came springing out of the building, followed by Natsu and Happy the Pokédex.

"LUCY!" Natsu jumped off the steps and looked around the shoreline of Route 15. "What's going on?"

"Yea!" happy threw out two virtual blue arms in the shape of Ninja hands. "Do we need to lay the law down around here!?"

"No guys, everything's all right!" She laughed with her goofy friend's entrance. "Lillie ran into some trouble, but we solved it by ourselves."

Acerola turned to face the blonde victim from moments ago. "Oh! Lillie! What's the matter? You look all worn out. Do you want to rest at Aether House awhile?"

"Oh, Acerola..." Lillie wanted to actually started crying now from all the loving support. "Thank you! I think I might take you up on that."

Acerola nodded, but instead of joining her in the house, she jumped up and down and turned for the road. "And you, _Fairy Tailers!_ We can reach the trial site from Tapu Village. The old supermarket where I hold my trial is right down this way. Down Route 14! Come on, follow me!"

"ALL RIGHT!" Natsu and Happy flew off to follow the ornery purple dressed girl, but Lucy linger back for a short while to make sure her good friend was safe.

"Go on inside!" Lucy encouraged her. "Hau's in there playing with some kids. I'm sure he'd love to hear all about your recent adventure!"

"I'm sure he would too!" Lillie marched up the stairs, but slowly turned before reaching the door to leave the wizard with one final thought. Lucy! Do your best to become a real champion!"

Lucy took that in for a moment, and gave Lillie a confident smile and nod as she turned to find her now missing friends past the Tapu Village.

* * *

"Here we are!" Acerola stood in front of two very confident fairies on the outside of the Abandoned Supermarket. "Climb up these steps and my trial begins!"

Natsu and Lucy both looked around with hesitation in their eyes, but just as the Fire Dragon Slayer collected his surroundings, he charged for the locked door and tried prying it open.

Lucy slapped herself in the face, and Acerola giggled into her hand and continued explaining their predicament. "The time has finally come, Lucy! And Natsu…teehee! So, I guess I should explain what kind of trial this is, huh? This old building is full of lots of Ghost-type Pokémon. Did you know?"

"N-no?" Lucy replied as a mysterious chill took the air. "This is the first time we've both been here."

Acerola understood, and carried out her captain's duties. "Here's where the trial part comes in. You've got to find the Totem Pokémon of this site and snap a shot of it with a _Poké Finder!_ "

"Oh hey!" Natsu stopped tugging on the door and turned with a grin. "That's the little camera thing that comes attached to Happy!"

Acerola nodded. "The totem is a bit of a trickster, and it likes to play hide-and-seek and mess around. If you take pictures of the other Ghost-type Pokémon inside, it'll definitely come out to get in on the fun and have its photo taken, too! So, if you see something weird happening inside this old place, try to check it out. I bet you'll find a Ghost-type Pokémon causing the mischief, so get its photo before it's gone!"

"I'm not liking the way that this trial is run!" Lucy wanted to run the other way, but her untrusty Rotom-dex flew out of her bag and into the hands of Acerola.

"I'll just borrow your Poké Finder for a sec…" She fiddled with its back panel, pressed a few buttons, and snapped it back on. "Hee hee! And your Rotom is a Ghost type, too! We just do this, and..."

She finished the process with Rotom, and after dealing with a totally restless Happy, Acerola finally let the two trainers lose into the trial grounds. "There! I've set it up to use a special shooting mode just for this trial. You'll only be able to use it at this site, though. As soon as you enter the building, your trial will begin. Got it? And you can't catch any of the Pokémon, either. And you can't leave without giving up, too, so make sure you're ready for anything!"

"OH!" Natsu tried prying the door open once again. "WE'RE READY FOR ANYTHING THE MOMENT THIS DOOR DECIDES TO QUIT BEING A JERK AND OPEN UP FOR ME!"

"Natsu…" Lucy's heart sank to the ground. "It's a push door…not pull."

"Oh?" The dimwitted fire breather gently touched the handle, and watched the door swing open at the gentle breeze of his hand. "Hehe! What do ya know? You were right, Lucy!"

"So funny!" Acerola giggled into her hand again. "Good Luck, Fairy Tail! We're all rooting for you!"

Now, Natsu and Lucy were wondering around the abandoned market place playing the role of ghost hunters as they laid out a search for their missing totem Pokémon. The two Pokédexes, Happy and Rotom, followed their respected trainers as they switched on spot lights to corner any lurking enemies scurrying about in the distance.

"I-I'm rethinking this trial right about now…" Lucy hid behind Natsu as they both walked through the abandoned grocery store, and the spunky fire trainer showed no fear while the two partners searched the store for ghost-type Pokémon.

"No kidding." Natsu mind seemed to be someplace else. "I'm not sure what beats ghosts in this game. Maybe we shoulda asked Mavis when she was playing with us in the last story."

"I think ghost beats ghost." Lucy admitted. "Normal and ghost don't hurt each other, but other than that I have no idea…" She then confidently closed her eyes and stamped her chest with a thumb. "Which is why I'll be loading my team with a bunch of Normal-types!"

"Psh!" Natsu lifted up a broken grocery cart. "That's too easy! I'm goin' in with all fire or bust!" He then saw a register come to life, and yelled with excitement as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt. "HEY CASH THINGY! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"

A small ball of purple gas and mist launched itself from the register drawer, but Natsu's Incineroar was already out and ready.

"Use that one dark attack!" Natsu called for a swift _Darkest Lariat_ attack, and in a fell swoop from his menacing starter Pokémon, the super effective move fainted the beast quick and easy.

"No way!" Lucy snapped her fingers from the sideline. "Natsu! Ghost Pokémon are weak to dark moves!"

"Really!?" Natsu put two and two together and jumped up and down. "I even have two dark Pokémon now thanks to your frog guy!"

"Oh yea…" Lucy rolled her eyes and marched down the next aisle. "Thanks for stealing him right before the next trial by the way…" The sarcastic wizard turned the next corner, and saw two very peculiar hands playing with a couple boxes on one of the selves. Lucy raised an eyebrow, and finally grinned as she made her next move.

"Okay then! GO _ARIES!_ " Her former Electric-type Flaffy was now fully evolved into a powerful Ampharos. The ram zodiac cowered for a short second before collecting the scene and making an attack of her own.

"Oh Lucy…I'm so sorry I'm not ready for the battle, but I'll tryyy!" She balled up her shiny pink fist, and launched a quick and easy _Thunder Punch_ for the now revealed Haunter. The ghost-type should have held more stamina for a regular fight, but Lucy's super charged zodiac was no matched for a mid-ranged Pokémon, and let her and Natsu move on the final section of the store.

Natsu dispatched of a floating Gengar haunting the back end of the toy section, and as he did so, Lucy wandered over to a lone closet door at the dead center of the store's back wall.

"Hmm…" Lucy giggled the knob a bit to break apart the rust, and then looked over to her partner. "Is your team ready?"

"Totally!" Natsu gave her a positive signal. "I take it you're fightin' first?"

"Sounds good to me!" She cheered back. The two trainers readied for an unexpected fight to begin, but as Lucy creaked open the door, an empty void of black nothingness took their view on the other side.

Instantly, the Celestial Spirit trainer felt a small shiver of fear creep down her spine, and Natsu even took his own gulp of air as they slowly tiptoed into the room to investigate it further. Once inside, the door slammed behind them, and left the pair with no light or warning for what happened next.

"Owe!" Lucy tripped over a random box on the floor. "Natsu, are you all right?"

Silence.

"Natsu…N-Natsu? Happy? A-Are you guys still here?" Lucy tried feeling around for her best friends, but all she could here was her own breath, and nothing else.

Then, a sharp blue light came from her bag, and Rotom flew out to provide her with a small light. "Mizz Luzy! I think you're all alone now!"

"I am!?" Lucy tried finding Natsu and Happy in the tiny cellar room, but as Rotom suggested, neither were where they were supposed to be.

It would have left her with the only option of leaving the room, but as Lucy turned back toward the door, a small tan object blocked her exit with an eerie cloud of purple smoke protruding from its underside.

"Oh no…" Lucy grabbed the first Pokémon Ball she could reached and prepped for the worst. "What the heck is that thing!?"

The small sack of nothing twitched for a brief moment, but then raised its head to reveal two pointy ears, and a horribly drawn sketch of Pikachu's facial features taking up most of its appearance.

"Seeeeeee Meeee?!" The Pokémon screeched, and sent out a wild ghostly claw to spread a cloud of particles over the field, which proved to Lucy this was now the right time to initiate the battle.

"Okay ya creepy little runt! I have the perfect team to beat you with! Go _Sagittarius!_ "

"You rang, my Lady?" The chivalrous Zebstrika sprang from his Poké Ball, and landed on the field in a fit of electric energy. He charged up his own attack, all while the enemy Totum powered its aura of stat-boosting energy.

"This thing is called _Mimikyu_ , so watch out. It might play a dirty trick on you if you're not careful, Sagittarius!" Lucy was cautious with every important fight inside this game, but as Natsu revealed before, Ghost Pokémon were extremely bizarre.

"Not to worry, my Lady!" Sagittarius rang loud. "I will vanquish this wicked creature, and deliver you a fine earned victory!" He shot out a super-charged _Thunderbolt_ in the shape of an arrow, and watched as it collided with Mimikyu on the other side of the field.

However, Mimikyu's highest stat was its Special Defense, and its special totem aura tanked the powerful hit, and even more so, it's unique Disguise ability left it totally unscathed from the damaging hit. This made it free for Mimikyu to send up a powerful _Shadow Claw_ , and sent the damage right back at the original aggressor.

"Oh no! What fell sorcery is this!?" Sagittarius felt the harsh shock from a powerful, critically damaging swing. Lucy yelled out as well, and alerted the appearance of a third opponent to the ring.

A sneaky Haunter floated in to help its ghastly friend, and now Lucy and her Celestial Spirits were staring down two fairly powerful Pokémon. She had no idea how she was supposed to handle two ghosts at the same time, but knew her trusty Archer was there to see her through.

"Be careful, Sagittarius!" Lucy cried out. "Those Haunter Pokémon are super fast!"

She was right. The swift new ghost-type flew in and nailed Sagittarius with a cruel and unusual _Sucker Punch_ , which sent the black horse Pokémon past the red and down to the ground.

"Sagittarius!" Lucy ran over, but now her fallen ally was collected by its ball. She clenched her fist, and grabbed her next choice right from her belt. "Grr…GO _GEMINI!_ "

The ball landed on the floor, and out came a shiny blue, and very bizarre Pokémon known as Ditto. It had a blank black stare, but suddenly broke apart into two separate forms.

"Piri-piri!" The two faces of the Gemini twins accompanied a set of smaller Dittos, each with their own bizarre personality.

"Piri! We're here ta help you, Lucy!"

"Piri-Piri! We always love fighting for you!"

"Glad to hear it guys!" Lucy liked their enthusiasm. "It's even better since your both Normal-Types! Now we have a slight advantage against Ghosts because…!"

"TRANSFORM!" Gemini both joined back together, and used their one and only Pokémon move in the blink of an eye. As expected, the transformation Pokémon ended its series by switching its form to mimic the new arrival, Haunter.

"OH WHAT THE HELL!" Lucy stomped her foot down. "I HAD A FULL PLAN AND EVERYTHING! Ugh…okay Lucy, just calm down. It's not like…"

"Mimikyu used _Shadow Claw!_ It's super effective! Gemini fainted!"

"…..AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Gemini set themselves up to fail by changing their typing to ghost. Lucy was outright furious, and shifted to use her other normal-type Taurus. It would appear, now, that the experienced Celestial Wizard had opted to only use Pokémon that had not gotten a lot of fighting time during the duration of this voyage. The Golden Bull, as usual, set himself up to fail by receiving a threatening Hypnosis from Haunter. The perverted Spirit sprung around several times to earn a quick view of his blonde master, but rounded back again to take a series of Sucker Punches from his enemies. Mimikyu even opted to use a specific Fairy-type move known as _Play Rough_ , which sent the Zodiac back to its ball like the others.

Aries the Ampheros was able to faint the Haunter, but only after receiving a near-deadly hit by Mimikyu. Then, an even more menacing Gengar emerged from the shadows, and landed an all too easy _Night Shade_ to make it 0-4 for Lucy. She tried her Rock/Water Kabutops in the form of Cancer, but the simple _Hypnosis-Play Rough_ combo eventually sent it to the Poké Ball. This finally left her normal spirit, Virgo the Maiden open for victory.

"Okay, Virgo." Lucy was near moments away from falling to her knees in defeat. "They can't hurt you with a majority of their moves. Ghost moves can't hit Normal Pokémon!"

"Glad to hear, Princess." Virgo nodded. "Should I use a psychic move to faint the Gengar?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA…!" Lucy snapped for a moment, and then caught her unusually observant spirit's comment. "Wait…VIRGO! YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

"Well I can't say that, but I will accept punishment from making you angry a moment ago."

"No no no!" Lucy explained. "Target the Gengar and hit it with that psychic move!"

Virgo nodded, and charged up a beam of purple energy for one of her bizarre attacks, but as she did the very Gengar that she wanted to attack sent out a shock waving _Hypnosis_.

"Dodge it!" Lucy jumped, and watched Virgo dig a hole in the ground to narrowly miss the sleeping move in its flight. The pesky Audino re-emerged, and went to make its move a reality, but suddenly a large flash came from the stomach of Mimikyu, and a quickly deployed Mimic attack was perfectly cast.

"Mimikyu used Mimic! It successfully mimicked Gengar's _Hypnosis!_ Virgo is fast asleep!"

"…" Lucy's eyes twitched with anger and confusion, and now her knees did slam into the ground as Virgo lied down in a total slumber, followed by several big hits from Mimikyu. It took quite a long time, but it was just enough to send Virgo into the point of no return and end the battle. Lucy collected her fallen ally, but felt a larger shiver of cold air take her shoulders as the enemy Mimikyu grew three times its starting size.

"OH MAN! NOW I NEED TA GET OUT OF HERE!" Lucy picked up her anger and rage, and ran to bolt through the door, and fell on the hard tile floor in the regular grocery hall. She tried collecting her breathe as the door shut behind her, but suddenly a large bashing noise displaced the door, and left her in total fear from the monster on the other side.

"Oh no!" Lucy tried crawling away. "First it beats me, now its gonna kill me or something!? WHAT KIND OF GAME DID YOU WRITE THIS TIME, NIGEL!?"

That question was never answered as the backroom door slammed open once again, but as Lucy put her arms up to guard her face, a rough head of fiery pink hair slammed into her face, and Natsu Dragneel landed on top of his poor blonde friend down below.

"AGH! Oh man, am I glad to see you, Lucy! That creepy mousy thing is tryin' ta kill me!"

"Natsu!" Lucy sat up. "You saw Mimikyu too!"

"Mimikyu!?" Natsu stopped for a short moment, then balled his fist up in total anger. "Oh ya, I saw the little punk! He beat me in a battle and chased me out to here!"

"That's terrib…wait, what did you say?" Lucy froze with total confusion after hearing Natsu's explanation.

"What?" Natsu crossed his arms in ager and embarrassment. "The stupid Totem thing beat me again. Don't worry, Imma get back in there as soon as I heal my team, and we're gonna…!"

"No, Natsu." Lucy reached out and grabbed him by the hand. "I…I lost too."

"What!?" Natsu had no idea how to collect the news before him. "You're sayin'…we both lost the Totem fight?"

Lucy nodded, and they both leaned back on the wall of a grocery aisle side by side. They had come so far, lost a few totem battles, and even suffered some micro-defeats in the Grand Trials, but so far, one of the trainers found a way to lead the other and win the fight.

Now, the Alolan vacation was far different than the lush beachy environment from before. Lucy and Natsu both faced the sixth trial, and both lost in an equally disconcerting fashion. Things were looking down for both wizards, and the two allies needed a miracle to bypass this daunting task standing in their way.

* * *

 **Ahh, nothings wrong with a late-night chapter release...except NATSU AND LUCY BOTH LOST!? WTF!**

 **We'll see how they pick themselves back up in the next chapter!**


	23. 22: Spirit of the Fight

**Author's Note: Oh my god, it's been almost 2 years...I BROKE MY PROMISE FOR TIMELY RELEASES!**

 **I'll sob later. Welcome back! I'm here with Chapter 22, and my explanation on my delay in the bottom AN. Enjoy!**

 **Also, I do not own _Fairy Tail_ or _Pokemon_.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two - Spirit of the Fight

* * *

"So, Lucy! You gave up on my trial last time, huh?"

Acerola sat with a small Pokémon themed cappuccino in her hand at the Tapu Village Pokémon Center just above the coastline that featured the abandoned Thrifty Megamart. She sat with a slightly cheery expression, but realized things probably were not so cheery for her new Fairy friends that just suffered dual defeats at the hands of her totem Pokémon.

Lucy sighed as her head was still buried in her crossed arms over the table. "No, I never gave up. We pretty much just lost the battle. Both of us."

Natsu was stuffing food into his mouth, with a little bit of rage hanging out of his eyes as he tried to join the conversation. "It was stupid. What the hell are you feedin' that little monster, anyway? He was like a brick wall!"

"Seriously." Happy floated low over the table as he sunk down by Lucy. "He had so many tricks up his sleeve."

Acerola giggled. "Mimikyu is a pretty tough opponent, isn't it? It's a Ghost- and Fairy-type Pokémon. Did you know? Neither type has a lot of weaknesses, so it's tricky to beat."

She then gave Natsu a reaffirmed nod. "You probably want to try Ghost- or Steel-type moves against it. I'm sure you'll beat it next time! Don't give up on my trial yet! I believe in you!"

"Yea, we tried some of those tricks. I had a team of mostly normal Pokémon, and Natsu tried using Dark-types, but I guess Mimikyu is pretty resistant to those..."

"No kidding!" Food flew off of his chop sticks as he gestured toward Lucy. "That stupid little... _god_ , wait 'til I get my own magic back oh I'm gonna..."

"Yea, something tells me this game doesn't work like that..." Lucy leaned back up as she picked a bit of Natsu's thrown ramen out of her hair. She tried to return to her mental drawing board with a fresh new set of ideas. "I feel like the Fairy-type Totem Pokémon is the one we need to beat! It'd be pretty embarrassing if our journey stopped at this one."

Acerola shrugged, and gestured her mug over toward the PC by the counter. "Well you could always take a trip to Poké Pelago and get their affection up! That usually helps me out when I'm trying to fight with newer team members!"

"Poké Pelago?" Lucy said with uncertainty. "What the heck is that?"

Acerola grew more excited. "Poké Pelago! It's like an uninhabited island that exist solely for the delight of Pokémon. The main island lets you collect these little Poké beans that make your Pokémon even better with affection points! It's such a nice little place!"

"Bleh!" Natsu spat his current bite out. "I'm not goin' anywhere on an island if I need a boat to get there. Count me out, Lucy!"

"Okay, Natsu." Lucy turned to give him slight attitude. "Then what's your big strategy going to be this time around?"

"Huh, I dunno..." Natsu pondered on that thought for only half a second. "Probably just ta do what I did before, but use more fire! I think the little rat will hate that little room he lives in if I give him a nice flame bath!"

"Aye!" Happy lit up with a bright light over his screen. "Ka- _boom!_ "

"I like it!" Acerola was encouraging him. "Turn up the heat! Plus, Mimikyu's Fairy half isn't good against Fire-types! He does have that nasty Disguise ability though..."

"Yea he does...but fire?" Lucy always liked learning new things, especially if it could help her out of a pickle later on. "So, what I really need is a Normal/Fire ty...I GOT IT! I know what I'm going to do!"

"What-?" Natsu raised a hand the moment Lucy jumped out of her seat and flew for the door. "Where ya goin'? I still have half a meal to finish!"

"No time, Natsu!" Lucy hated leaving her best friend there, but she wanted to try out these new Poké bean things before her next fight. She let the center doors part open, then raced for the beach side to take part in a second challenge at the abandoned Megamart.

"Man, she really can be a pain sometimes..." Natsu shook his head, and continued eating while Acerola started playing with her hair.

"You two really are a good team!" She laughed at how close Natsu and Lucy were during their time together at the table. "Have you known each other for very long?"

"Of course!" Natsu beamed. "We're good friends from our wizard guild back home! We've been on hundreds of jobs together, all over the world."

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed. "She's our best friend in the world! She completes our team! Even if she can bee a little much sometimes...teehee."

Acerola nodded. "Lucy doesn't seem to be a big fan of Pokémon or battling, but she really is a bright person!"

"Yea she is!" Th Fire Wizard quickly agreed with her. "She's one of the smartest people in our guild. I feel like my head explodes half the time she talks...either because of that or because she just likes to take a lot."

Acerola covered up her giggling mouth. "I thought it was really sweet that she tried to cycle in more of her friends for my trial. She might have actually won with her normal team if she didn't try to over think it with Pokémon she just found."

"Nah, she always knows what she's doing." Natsu gave Acerola toothy grin as he reassured her of Lucy's capabilities. "Let's just say her Pokémon team is super close to her back in the real world. She trusts them more than anything in the world."

"I dunno...she seems to trust _you_ an awful lot too, Natsu." Acerola got up and started walking toward the counter for a second cup of coffee. She made sure to give the boy a wink as she tried to softly tease him.

Happy was confused as he stayed staring at the little purple-haired girl on the other side of the room. "Hmm...So what do ya think Lucy's plan is, Natsu? Ya think she's tryin' ta use some secret strategy?"

"I guess!" Natsu started back down on his meal. "I gotta finish this quick or I'm gonna get left behind!"

* * *

Lucy ran back in to the decrepit supermarket once again, only this time she had a cocky grin attached to her face as she pushed open the doors to the back storage room.

"Okay little guy, I'm ready for round two!"

Mimikyu was turned toward a corner as he was seen smashing a Pikachu doll into the ground repeatedly, but swiftly turned to see his newest opponent. He jumped in a startled leap, and turned to power on his flashing totem aura, raising his stats, and beginning the battle with the Celestial Wizard.

"Here we go." Lucy was ready for her second round against the teasing little Ghost-type, and made sure to start with a move vetted by brain this time, not brawn. "Go _Aries!_ "

The small pink Flaffy Pokémon sprang from her Poké Ball, and shuffled her hands together in a timid expression. "Um, I'm really sorry Lucy, but didn't I already try to beat this one for you?"

"It's fine, Aries! Trust me! After he hits, use _Thunder Wave!_ "

Aries did not like the first half of that, and had no choice but to tank the first hit from the vengeful Mimikyu. Lucy hated using her spirit like bait, especially one so delicate like Aries, but she needed this to work if her plan would have any effect.

"GO!"

Aries charged up her static electricity from her wool, and shot a small dart of bolts at the spinning Ghost/Fairy. Mimikyu felt a sharp zap take his spine, but giggled as he tossed up a small brown object, and started chowing down.

"Totem Mimikyu is _paralyzed._ It may be unable to move!"

"Yes! Score one for Lucy Heartfilia!" She boasted for only a short amount of time before the next flair text joined the fray.

"Totem Mimikyu's Lum Berry cured its paralysis!"

" _Aaaand_ I figured something like that would happen..." Lucy watched her poor Spirit of the Ram take a second hit in a row from the vile Mimikyu, but just as she fell in defeat, a second jolt of electric pain took the spine of Mimikyu by surprise.

"Aries's Static ability has left Totem Mimikyu with _paralysis!_ It may be unable to move!"

"All right!" Lucy jumped in the air with glee. "I've still got this! Thanks, Aries. I'll make sure you're healed first the moment we get back to town. Now..."

Her grin grew even brighter as she unleashed her new plan. "As much as I hated doing it, there's a reason I sent Aries out to take those first few hits. GO _LOKE!_ "

A great white light emerged from her Poké Ball as Leo the Lion landed on the darkened field. The shadowy Mimikyu shielded his eyes from Loke's brilliant aura with his wispy tail, and let a nearby Haunter join the battle as things were suddenly about to get serious.

"Okay, so you're the punk who took down Aries." Loke was still a small Litleo, but the shining fire in his veins was on full power the moment he saw his two opponents. "Couldn't face me alone, I take it? This ought to be easy, Lucy."

"Sounds great!" His trainer replied. "But I need you to focus on that Haunter, first! I need Mimikyu alone. Be careful he knows Hypnosis!"

"One step ahead of you! _Lion Brilliance!_ "

A blinding light lit the field in a golden blanket, and once again Mimikyu and his partner were forced to cover their darkened eyes. Even after trying to cover their vision, though, there was a soft yellow haze surrounding their vision.

"Loke used _Flash!_ Totem Mimikyu and Haunter had their accuracy lowered!"

Haunter waved his hands like a comedic magician, but his flowing _Hypnosis_ attack avoided hitting Loke. The lion Pokémon charged forward from their and slammed into his body with a great ball of fire.

 _"REGULUS IMPACT!"_

"Loke used _Flame Charge!_ "

Haunted floated around in a looping circle as he crashed into the ground by defeat. Mimikyu went to retaliate, but his paralysis acted up and froze him in place. Loke gave the two a smug grin, and turned to address his master.

"I hope you were able to watch that, Lovely. It was all for you."

"Yea yea, brag when you beat them both." Lucy gave him a wink, but then saw an even larger Gengar join the battle after that act. He was unaffected by the earlier Flash attack, and managed to hit Loke with his own _Hypnosis_ without fail. The little lion cub fell to the ground in a soft slumber, and Mimikyu used this opportunity to Play Rough with the little guy and send him back to his own.

"Started braggin' a little too soon there, buddy." Lucy sighed and put his ball away, while she also quickly made a decision for his replacement. "Go, _Virgo!_ "

A large hole formed in the floor of the arena as the bizarrely colored Audino emerged from the ground. Her black and white color scheme hinted to her maid status in the real world, and she quickly turned to follow her master's orders.

"Princess, does this opponent need punished for beating you last time?"

"Ya know?" Lucy laughed and pointed ahead. "I actually think he does! Use _Entrainment!_ "

"Entertainment? If you insist!" Virgo started to perform her extremely silly dance as she flailed her arms up and down in the air. The Gengar started to howl with laughter, but the Mimikyu was only getting further annoyed as he tried to round up his next attack.

Virgo took a hard hitting _Play Rough_ to the face, and then fell fast asleep as Gengar through a quick _Hypnosi_ s her way as well. Lucy was fed up with the ridiculous made already, and sent out her next silly spirit to fight for her cause.

"Okay, Baby!' Cancer the Giant Kabutops was slashing his claws about the moment he saw the action in front of him. "Need me to do anything?"

"Cancer! I think Gengar there is lookin' for a new style. Try something dark and edgy for me, will ya?"

"Can do, Baby! YAH!" He cloaked his blades in a shroud of black, and hit Gnegar with a powerful Night Slash. He was barel able to get it off in time, but the Hypnosis sent from Gengar missed at the very end of its stretch and left the round Ghost Pokemon rolling on the floor in defeat.

"Oh yea!" Lucy jumped even higher than before. "That paralysis is really doing wonders for my Mimikyu problem!"

"I supozze it izz!" Rotomdex joined her for the final moments of her fight, and zapped about in an excited frenzy. "Zztt, better watch the _Play Rough_ , though!"

"Don't worry." Lucy was grinning even brighter than before now. "I don't plan on having Cancer make the final hit."

"Low blow, Baby, low blow..." Cancer sighed as he took a powerful Shadow Ball from the Mimikyu, which damaged his already low special attack so much that he fainted in defeat.

Finally, Lucy grabbed one more ball from her belt, and tossed it high in the air. "All right, now it's truly time to shine, you two! _GEMINI!_ "

"Piri! Pikiri!" The blue Gemini twins emerged on the battlefield yet again, and danced for Lucy as they awaited her orders. "We're sorry we attacked so soon last time, Lucy!"

"That's okay, guys! Do the same thing you did before!"

"Uhmmm..." Rotom was confused, and started looking back at his past battle logs for Lucy. "Pardon me, Mizz Lucy, but didn't their Transform ability totally fail last time?"

Lucy took advantage of the now frozen Mimikyu as her Zodiac twins twisted into a newly formed Totem Mimikyu. "Yea, but now that he's a little frozen from paralysis, Gemini has the higher speed stat!

She pointed her foe down, and made her final command. "Okay, it's a good thing Mimikyus have lower Defenses then Special Defenses! USE _SHADOW CLAW!_ "

"Mizz Lucy!" Rotom shouted out with another warning. "You're forgetting Mimikyu's Disguise ability! He can tank any hit thatz thrown at him!

"Right, or he could if that was still his ability..."

"Huh?" Rotom was confused, and his confidently grinning Pokemon Trainer was not helping his state as she tried explaining herself even more.

Lucy turned to give Rotom an explanation. "I had Virgo use a silly move called _Entrainment_ earlier. Thanks to that, Mimikyu adopted her Regenerator Ability! Which means..."

 _"Its disguise served it as a decoy!"_

Mimikyu tanked the hit, despite Virgo's entertaining dance from before. This left the blonde trainer even more furious than her last fight. "But It was supposed to change the ability!"

"Mizzz Lucy." Rotom reluctantly called to his trainer. "Entrainment has no effect on Disguise. It's a newer ability, unique to Mimikyu."

Lucy wanted to throw in the towel again, but just as the opponent went to strike her Mimikyu-ed Gemini, their very own Disguise helped save them from a One-Hit KO, and left the enemy Totem Pokemon wide open once again. Lucy finally turned to stare down her opponent before sending him to his demise. "He no longer has a Disguise to hide behind! GET HIM, GEMINI!"

"Piri Piri! Pikiri!" Gemini slashed down the totally confused Mimikyu with a mirror image of itself, and even though its health was healthy and at 100, that Ghost-type attack sent it over its own edge, and ended the battle for the victorious Lucy Heartfilia.

"Oh yea!" Lucy gave Gemini a quick wink, and thumbs up as she claimed her victory once and for all. "I really do have the best spirits!"

"Lucy!" Natsu plowed through the door, and looked to see his partner claim victory over the now defeated Totem Pokemon. "No way! You beat the guy! That's awesome!"

"I know!" Lucy grabbed his hands, and brought him in for a tight hug. "You should have seen me, Natsu! My strategy actually worked! Er, sort of..."

"Hah!" Natsu was happy to receive a hug from her, and tried to figure out how she did it. "What made it work this time around?"

"Oh?" Lucy grew a little more confident that moment. "Let's just say Celestial Spirit Magic is more powerful than it seems."

"Nice ta hear!" Natsu gave her an assuring thumbs up as he still stood in front of the closed room door. "Well no need ta worry about me! I already beat my little ghost guy as well!"

"Natsu that's amazing! I'm sorry I missed it..." She was sad to miss his fight, but slowly let a smokey air fill her nose. "Hold on, why does it smell like it's burning in here...?"

"NATSU!" The two trainers could hear a virtual Happy yelling from the other side of the door. "ARE YOU GONNA GRAB HER, OR WHAT!?"

"OH RIGHT!" Natsu lifted Lucy onto his shoulders, and turned for the door. "WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE PRONTO!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She yelled frantically and dug several fists into his back. "Put me down! Why are you running so fast? Did you burn up your room?!"

"Nope!" He laughed as he threw open the closet door to reveal a field of burning embers and flames. "My Pokemon burned down the whole stinkin' megamart except _your_ room!"

"NATSU!" She screamed even more as Natsu hip hopped across the smoldering floor of ruin and rubble. He moved Lucy into his arms, and turned his back toward a large sheet of glass as they both plowed through a bay window out of the store.

Lucy landed safely on top of a now worn out Natsu, while Happy the Pokedex and Acerola giggled from the other side of the field.

"Nice ya see ya, Lucy!" Happy said with glee as he twirled around with the ghostly trial captain. "Natsu's fire Pokemon went a little overboard with their assault on Mimikyu this time, and as a result he managed to catch the entire building on fire!"

"That's totally ridiculous!" Lucy rubbed her sore behind as she tried lifting herself off Natsu. "Why would you let him do that, Happy?"

"The little guy was askin' for it..." Happy suddenly growled with anger. "He tried scarin' us again when we got in the room for the fight."

"Lousy scumbag." Natsu crossed his arms and legs, and turned from the others. "He got us good two times in a row!"

"Natsu..." Lucy pressed her palm over her face. "You had to of seen it coming the second time..."

Acerola was giggling and blushing at both of them when she managed to walk over to the area of grass featuring the broken window. "Awe, you two really are quite animated. Welcome back, Lucy! I can check your pictures right away. Now let's see how you did..."

Lucy handed the little Acerola her Rotomdex, and Happy flew over to show her a picture of Natsu's for good measure. Once she swiped through Lucy's pictures, she spun around in a twirl of delight. "Yup! That's Mimikyu all right! It's pretty hard to catch it on film, so this is a really great attempt! Which means..."

She now revealed two shining purple Z-Crystals, and tossed them to their new owners. Acerola followed up by crossing her arms, and then finished by covering her face, and crouching low to the ground. She swiveled up to mimic a ghost as she emerged to her feet, and spread her legs in a wider stance to sell the act even more.

"If you want to use a Ghost-type Z-Power, then you've got to move like this!"

"Yea, I may pass on that one..." Lucy shook her head with embarrassment.

Natsu stood quickly and started clapping his hands. "Ooo I like that one a lot! Happy and I can use it to scare Lucy next time we sleep over at her place. Do it again for me, will ya?"

"Don't worry, I got it on film!" Happy cooed with delight. "Operation Scare-Lucy-When-We-Get-Home is still good to go!"

Acerola had to cover he giggling face yet again as she carried on. "Since you passed my trial, Natsu and Lucy, you now have my permission to catch Pokémon in the trial site. So, in that old building there...err."

They all turned to see the Megamart was now totally engulfed in flames as the roof collapsed in on itself. Lucy lowered her head in pure embarrassment, while Natsu and Happy howled with excitement and cheered for the rest of the building to fall down as well.

"Well...I guess Tapu Village just got a new light house..." Lucy admitted as she wafted smoke away from her face. "As long as we don't have to pay for it."

Acerola shrugged, and awarded the two trainers with their prize nonetheless. "Oh well, here you go! It's not a bad idea to have some Ghost-type Pokémon on your team!"

"Thanks anyway, Acerola. We can meet you back at town." Lucy led her friends away from the sight for a moment, until a quick thought popped through her head. "Oh by the way...I don't actually remember taking a photo of the Mimikyu."

"Really?" Natsu asked. "That was like the whole point of the trial, wasn't it?"

"Yea!" Happy agreed. "Are you just sayin' that cause my picture is better than Rotom's?"

"No, I'm not." Lucy snarled back. "I'm being serious!"

"What's that?" Acerola finally caught up with what Lucy was saying. "You say the Poké Finder just started up on its own, during your trial?"

"I guess." Lucy thought about it while she revisited her first fight. "The first time I got in the back room the stupid thing scared me too much to think, and the second time I sort of just barreled in there and fought. Rotom or I never flashed a photo."

Acerola covered a smiling face, but a small chill flowed down her spine. "Oooh, cut it out, Lucy! You're trying to scare me, huh? You'll have to come up with something a bit more believable than that! There's not even any room in the back of that shop, for starters! How gullible do you think I am?"

"WHAT?!" Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all yelled out in a craze as they were now told the Megamart had no back room closets in the first place.

Acerola covered her bare arms with her hands as an even chillier gust of air flowed from the darkened night time forest behind the burning building. "Brrr! I feel like I'm getting chicken skin... Like a chill going through me for some reason...even in all this heat!"

Natsu and Lucy had no idea what she was talking about, and tried to figure out the meaning of everything she just said. As they started walking down the cliff face to the sea, though, Happy turned back to the burning building to notice a tiny set of shining eyes staring right back at him and his party.

"AHHHHH!" He yelled with pure fear as he flew down the hill to catch up to his best friends. " _NATSU!_ THAT CREEPY THING IS GONNA PUT A CURSE ON ME!"

* * *

 **It's not a terribly long one, but by god I finally delivered!**

 **Ladies and gentlemen, how is everyone!? My lord teaching has been a roller coaster! I'm still doin' it, don't worry!**

 **So apart from my busy professional schedule over the past year and a half, this was actually a challenging chapter for me to write. I find it hard to write fights against the same opponent back to back, and this story is kind of full of that with the back and forth Lucy and Natsu. I had both of them lose to Mimikyu in the last one, and it took me a little while to come up with a clever twist for a rematch. I'm sorry I skipped out on Natsu's fight! I hope the fiery Megamart made up for it in the form of lols.**

 **Also...hehe...I discovered the _Elder Scrolls Online_ last summer, and that...sort of...stole a lot of my free time this past year. I reached it's max level in a year's worth of playing (CP 810), and I'm still having a blast! Buuuuut, I've been in a super-charged mood for Fairy Tail and I've been going back and updating several stories recently, so I thought I'd add to this one!**

 **Next one will come out when I finish it. Sorry that I'm taking away what I previously said about timely updates. I need time and passion to write chapters, and that second thing comes in waves with me and Pokemon. I mean...I never even bought the new Pikachu and Eevee games. First time in my life I've been okay with ending my Pokemon craze. But this story needs finished! Feel free to comment and tell me how ya've been!**

 **Until then!**


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